Torrey, R. A. 
Practical and perplexing 
questions answered 











~) 
~ 

- 
~~ 


PRACTICAL” PERPLEXING 


QUESTIONS 
ANSWERED 


BY R.A. TORREY 
















BY 


R. A. TORREY 


AUTHOR OF : i 


“How to Pray.” “Difficulties in the Bible.” Eto 


‘THE MOODY PRESS 
153 Institute Place 


Be ik 


Crcaco- 





7? 


‘ COPYRIGHT 1905, 
The Moody Bible Institute 
: ALL RIGHTS RESER 









pnated in United States of Amertes 


PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXING 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 


————_ — 


ANGELS. 


Please explain Matthew 18:10: ‘‘Take heed that ye 
despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, 
that in heaven their angels do always behold the face 
of My Father which is in heaven.’’ Has every child a 
guardian angel? 

This seems to be the plain teaching of the text. Some 
explain the text in another way, that the angels of the 
children spoken of here are the departed spirits of the children 
in the glory, but there is not a hint in the Bible anywhere_ 
that the departed spirits of human beings are angels. The 
clearest distinction is kept all through the Bible between 
angels and men. The old hymn “I Want to Ba an Angel” 
has no warrant whateverein Scripture. 

The angels of the children here spoken of are the angels 
who watch over the children. It is the office of angels to 
minister in behalf of those who shall be heirs of salvation 
(Hebrews 1:14), and each child seems, according to the Bible, 
to have a guardian angel, and these angels occupy a position 
of special favor and opportunity before God. They stand in 
His very presence and always behold the face of the Father. 


ANNIHILATION OF THE WICKED. 


What is meant by the theory of the annihilation of 
the wicked? Is it Scriptural? 

It means the annihilation of being of those who die without 
having accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. 

There is no Scripture to support such a theory. The Bible 
clearly teaches that the future destiny of the wicked is a con- 
dition of unresting, unending, conscious torment and anguish. 
See further answer under “Eternal Punishment.” 








6 PRACTICAL AND PEF 


Why i is the theory of the annihilatide © t 
apparently indicated by Revelation 20:14, 15, a rey 
hensible doctrine, apart from Scriptural teaching rele 
ing thereto? PAS 

The annihilation of the wicked is not indicated in Revelation 5 i 
20:14, 15 to any one who reads the whole passage and parallel _ A 
passages in the Scriptures: “And death and hell were cast — 
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whoso- 
ever was not found written in the book of life was cast into — 
the lake of fire.’ The lot of those cast into the lake of fire — 
is not annihilation. 

As to its being “a reprehensible doctrine, apart from Scrip- 
ture,” I would say that-I have never known anyone to accept 
this doctrine who did not lose power for God. I could tell of 
instances of men whom God greatly used who have-been led 
to accept this doctrine and who in consequence were im part or 
altogether set aside as soul-winners. If one really believes the 
doctrine of the endless, conscious torment of the impenitent 
he will work as never before for their salvation befoes. it an 
too late. ° 


og 4 







. me —_- 
$ 


ANTICHRIST, 


Who is the Antichrist, and when will he appear? 

The Antichrist will be a person in whom Satan’s resistance 
to Christ and His kingdom will culminates He will be a 
man, but a man whom Satan will fill to such an extent that 
he will be Satan incarnate. The Devil always seeks to ape 
God’s work, and his aping of God’s work will culminate in his 
aping of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. The Anti- 
ehrist’s coming will be after the working of Satan, with all 
power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and with efl deceit 
of unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10, R. V., margin). 

He will appear just previous to the coming of Jesus Christ, 
and our Lord will consume him with the breath of His mouth 
and destroy him with the brightness of His coming @ Phos, 
salonians 2:8, R. V:). ¥ 





_ you have everlasting life because God here says so'in s0 many 





-. QUESTIONS ANSWERED 7 


‘There are already many antichrists preparing the way for ~— 


Oe thee final and consummate Antichrist (1 John 2:18). Indeed, 
every one that denieth the Father and the Son is an antiehrist, 
but there seems to be an especial preparation for the Antichrist, 
in whom all the forces of evil shall head up, in the papacy on 
the ome hand and in rationalism and anarchy on the other 
hand. The papacy, the anarchistic socialism and rationalism 
some day will join and be headed by one man whom the Devil 
shail especially gift and in whom he shall dwell, and that 
man will be the Antichrist. 


' ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. 


~ Is it — for a person to say that he is saved before 


he dies? 
_ May I know that I am saved, and if so, on what 
authority? 

If you really are saved you may know it on the catia 
of God’s Word. God says in John 3:36: “He that believeth on 


the Sen hath everlasting life.” You know whether you believe 


on the Son or not. If you do believe on the Son you know 


words, 

Again, 1 John 5:11, 12: ‘This is the record, that God hath 
given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that 
hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God, 
hath not life.” For one who believes on the Son to doubt he 
has life is to make God a liar. We are told this in so many 
words in the preceding verse, where we read: “He that be- 


lieveth not God hath made Him a liar, because he believeth © 


not the record that God gave of His Son.” 

_ Furthermore, anyone who has received Jesus as his Saviour 
and Lord and King may know that he is a child of God. God 
Says so in so many words in John 1:12: “But as many as re- 
ceived Him to them gave He power to become the sons of 
God.” If you have received Jesus you have a right to call} 
_yourself a child of God. You have no right. te doubt that ou 
are a child of God. 








that he 48 justified, that his sins are all tee: 
God counts him righteous in Christ. He has a right : know 
it on the very best ground, namely, because God says: So” 
We read in Acts 13:38, 39: “Be it known unto you therefor 
men and brethren, that through this Man is preached 
you forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe apes 4 
fie@ from all things.” Notice, it says: “All that believe 
are justified.” You know whether you believe or not. [ft f 
you do believe on Jesus God says you are justified. Many: 
people doubt their salvation because they look at their 
feelings instead of looking at the Word of God. [ft is 
not a question at all whether you feel that you are a child 
of God, it is simply a question of what God says, and if you 
look at your feelings instead of the Word of God you make 
God a liar for the sake of your own feelings. 

God caused one book of the Bible to be written for the very 
purpose that every one that believes on the Son of God might 
know that he has eternal life (1 John 5:13): “These things 
(are) written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of 
God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” If God caused 
a book to be written that we might know it, then certainly - 
we may know it, and the verse teaches us that the way to 
know it is from what is “written.” The first thing to be 
sure of is that you really do believe on Jesus, that you really 
have received Him as your Saviour, surrendered to Him as 
your Lord and Master, confessed Him as such publicly before 
the world. When sure of that you may be absolutely sure 
that you are saved, that you have eternal life, that your sins 
are all forgiven, that you are a child of God. 


THE ATONEMENT. 


What theory of the atonement does the Bible teach? — 
The Bible does not teach a theory of atonement—it teaches 
- a fact, the glorious fact that every one of our sins was laid — 
upon Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinth»ans 


~ 


a 


Rote tho Tia pe thn 
: ; ’ * 


* 
Pee 
a 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 9 


6:21; Galatians 3:13), and that through Jesus Christ having 
borne our sins there is not only pardon for every sin but justi- 
fication, which is more than pardon. That is, the Bible teaches 
that as Jesus Christ took our place on the cross, the moment we 


_ aecept Jesus Christ we step into His place, the place of perfect 


acceptance before God, we become the righteousness of God in 
Him (2 Corinthians 5:12, R. V.). We no longer have our 
Own poor, pitiable, unsatisfactory righteousness, but a perfect 
righteousness, the righteousness of God in Christ (Philippians 
3:9, R. V.). 


How could God punish His innocent Son for the 
guilt of man? 

The doctrine of the Bible is not that God, a holy first per- 
soh, takes the sins of man, a guilty second person, and lays 
them upon His own holy Son, an innocent third person. That 
is the way the doctrine is often misrepresented. In fact, it is 
the representation usually made by those who reject the Bible 
doctrine of substitution. 

The real teaching of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is not 
a third person, that He is indeed the first person, “that God 
was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Corinthi- 
ans 5:19), and that in the atoning death of His Son, instead 
of laying the punishment of guilty man upon an innocent 
third person, God took the shame and suffering due te man 
upon Himself; and so far from that being unjust and Ret it 
is amazing grace! 

Furthermore, Jesus Christ was the second person. He was 
not merely a man, He was “ithe Son of man,” the representa- 
tive Man, the head of the race. No ordinary man could bear 
the guilt of other men, but “the Son of man,” the representa- 
tive Man, could. 

If we take the teaching of the Bible not in a fragmentary 
way but as a complete whole it is the most wonderful philos- 
ophy the world has ever known. We will ponder and admire 
its inexhaustible depths throughout eternity. But if we take 


any one doctrine out the other doctrines become absurd. If 








doctrine of the atonement becomes an abeardtige! nd 
difficulty suggested by this question naturally arises. — ‘Or 
we give up the doctrine of the real humanity of Christ, the 
doctrine of the atonement loses its profound significance. ‘But 
if we take all the Bible says, namely, that Jesus was really 
divine, “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16), and 
that He was truly man, not merely a man but “the Son of 
man,” the representative Man, then the doctrine of the atone- 
ment presents no difficulties but an amazing depth of truth. 

It is strange how little the average objector to the doctrine 
of substitution knows about the real doctrine of the Bible on 
this point. Instead of fighting what the Bible really teaches 
he is fighting a figment of his own uninstructed imagination. “i 


BACKSLIDING. ~athon 


How would you deal with a backslider? Is there 
hope for him, and how? 

Everywhere I go I find many persons who tell me that they - 
were once Christians, but confess that they have gone back 
into the world. I am persuaded that many of these were neyer 
truly saved. They have gone forward in revival meetings, or 
united with the church, or done something of that sort, but 
they have never really fully accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour 
and Lord. Having made a failure of their first attempt, they 
hesitate to make another. Me 

This hesitation is unreasonable. The fact that one has at- 
tempted to do a thing and done it in the wrong way is no 
reason for not doing it in the right way. If people would — 
begin the Christian life right they-would not be so likely to 
go back, and if they have begun it wrong they had better 
begin it over again in the better way. 

The right way to begin, as shown us by God’s own Word, is: 

First, to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, that is, to believe 
God’s testimony concerning Him, that He bore all your sins 
in His own body on the cross; and to trust God to forgive 





Ae > Soy » 


> QUESTreziS ANSWERED ~ at b 





you, not because of anything that you have done but because 
of what Christ did when He made full atonement for your 
sins in His own body on the cross il Peter 2:24; Galatians 
3:13). ‘ 
Second, to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and King (Acts 
- 2:36). This involves the utter surrender of your thoughts to 
Him to teach, and of your life to Him to govern. You must 
put yourself completely at His disposal. You must not only 
Sing with your lips but make it a fact in your life—“I sur- 
render all.” This lack of absolute surrender at the time of 
starting the Christian life is the cause of a large measure-otf 
backsliding. 

Third, to accept Christ as the risen Son of God who has all 
power in heaven and on earth, and to trust Him to keep you 
day by day from falling, and from all the power of sin and 
temptation (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 7:25; Jude 24). 

Having begun right most of the battle is won, but you must 
go right on in obedience to Christ. Continuance in the Chris- 
tian life is not at all a question of. your strength, but of 
Christ's. 

If you have begun the Christian life once and failed, begin 
it again and succeed. Many of the strongest Christians today 
are those who were once backsliders. The apostle Peter him- 
self was once a backslider, but after Pentecost he was one of 
the mightiest servants of Christ that the world ever saw. 
Pentecost is possible for you. . 

No one can be more miserahle than the backslider. Jere 
miah was certainly right when he said to backsliding Israel: 
“It is an evil thing and a bitter that thou hast forsaken the 
Lord thy God.” The one who forsakes Christ forsakes the 
fountain of living waters, and hews himself out cisterns, — 
broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13). Let 
him leave the broken cisterns of the world and come back to 

~ Christ, the Fountain of living water. 


It depends upon what you mean by “salvation” and by 


“baptism.” Certainly some have found forgiveness of sins and — 


have entered into eternal life without water baptism, as (for 


example) the thief on the cross (Luke 23:48). There isa 


large body of believers who do not practice water baptism at 


all, namely the Friends (or Quakers), and many of the Friends — 
have the consciousness of having their sins forgiven, and 
God has set His seal upon their acceptance by giving them 


the gift of the Holy Ghost. i 
But “salvation” is used in Scripture not merely of forgive 

ness of sins and eternal life but in a larger sense of all the 

fulness of blessing that is to be found in Christ. Certainly 






12 _ PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXI 
BAPTISM. : sisal 
Se, as 
Is baptism necessary for salvation? te > 


one cannot enter into all the fulness of blessing that there — 


is in Christ without absolute obedience to Him (Acts 5:32). 
If there is any commandment of Christ which we know that 
we do not obey we certainly cannot enjoy fulness of fellowship 
with Him. Jesus Christ commanded water baptism (Matthew 
28:19, 20). He also commanded it through His disciples (Acts 
2:38). But there are earnest followers of Christ who do not 


see in such passages as these a2 command to baptize or be — 


baptized with water, and in not being baptized they are not 
consciously disobeying Jesus Christ. 


As an act of obedience to Christ, therefore, water baptism 


certainly is in the larger sense a saving ordinance for those 
who believe that Jesus Christ commands it. Submitting to 
baptism has been the turning point in the experience of many 
aman and many a woman. It has been done as an act of 
conscious obedience to Jesus Christ, and has been accom- 
panied by great blessing. 


It is difficult for me to see how anyone can study the New — 


Testament with the single-eyed purpose of discovering what 


it actually teaches and not see the necessity of water baptism, 


and yet from my contact with those believers known as 
Friends I cannot but believe that many of them are perfectly 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 13 


oe 


conscientious in not being baptized with water, and are true 
children of God. 


What is the explanation of 1 Corinthians 15:29: 
‘*What shall they do which are baptized for the dead’’? 
There seems to have been in Paul’s time a custom of those 
who were alive being baptized in behalf of those who for one 


re 


reason or another had died without baptism. This is the ~ 


only reference in Scripture to this custom. 
It evidently was not a custom that the Bible commanded 


' or sanctioned. Paul ‘does not sanction it here. He simply 


refers to it as existing and refers to those that practice it as 
showing that they believed in the resurrection, for otherwise 
this baptism for the dead would have no _ significance. 
The Mormon church practices the custom today, and this verse 
which they use as a warrant for it does not support the custom. 
Many customs crept into the church very early which were 
not of God, which the apostles did not endorse, and which 
Ought not to be followed by us. Certainly if Paul had wished 
us to follow this custom he would have said something moré 
about it than he does here. He would at least have endorsed 
it in this place, and he does not. When we look at the verse 
carefully we see that Paul not only does not endorse it but 
by implication rejects it, for he separates himself from the 
custom by saying: ‘“‘What shall they do which are baptized 
for the dead?” By this word “they” he not only separates 
himself from it but separates those to whom he writes from 
this third party who are baptized for the dead. 

This usage was afterwards extended, but only among her 
etics. It was repudiated by the church. 


THE BIBLE. 


Do you believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible‘ 
Ido. That is, I believe that the writers of the various books 
yn the Bible were guided by the Holy Spirit, not only in the 
thought to which they gave expression but also in the choice 





= of the words in which they expressed = 
; “spoke from God, being moved by the Holy Ghe t” 

1:21, R. V.). It was the Holy Ghost ‘who spoke (He 
: | 3:2; 10:15, 16; Acts 28:25). The word uttered was 
word (2 Samuel 23:2, R. V.). The very words used we 
the words which the Holy Ghost teaches (1 Coriathians 
2:13). Nothing could be plainer than Paul’s statement: “In 
words which the Spirit teacheth.” é ; 

The Holy Spirit Himself anticipated all these moder. in 

-genious but unbiblical and false theories regarding His 0 
work in the apostles. The more carefully and minutely o 
studies the wording of the statements made in the Bible, t =e 
more he will become convinced of the marvelous accura ms - 
of the words used to produce the thought. To a superf al ay 
student the doctrine of verbal inspiration may appear ques: 
tionable or even absurd, but any regenerated and Spirittaught a SN 

_ mana who ponders the words of Scripture day after day and i 
year after year will become increasingly convinced that the 
wisdom of God is in the very words used as well as in raged ‘2 
thought which is expressed in the words. ; 

It is a very suggestive fact that our difficulties with pee 

ul ‘Bible rapidly disappear when we come to notice the precise oie n 

7 ou ASeuepege used. The change of a word or a letter, of a tense. 











Kuo 
*, 





- @ase or number, oftentimes lands a person in contradiction or ae 
untruth; but by taking the words just as written, difficulties 
disappear and the truth shines forth. The more microseopic- % 


ally we study the Bible, the more clearly does its divine = 


- 


origin shine forth as we see its perfection of form as aN <a 


as BUBELADCS. —e 
bare all parts of the Bible equally inspliedl of God? : Be 
Az Scripture is given by inspiration of God, that is, is God = 


breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). There is no warrant for the = 
change that the Revised Version makes in this passage. As < 
originally written the entire Bible was infallible truth, er RS : “ 
_{n omr English version we have the original writings Basa 1S 
; “wth eo accuracy. eS Sor 





. 





oe se — 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 


But not all parts of the Bible are equally important. For 


example, the genealogies given in 1 Chronicles 1 to 9 are im: — 


portant; far more important than the average student of the 
Bible realizes, but they certainly are not as important to the 
heliever today as the teachings oi Christ and the apostles. 


If the Holy Spirit is the author of the words of - 
Scripture, how do we account for variations in style 
and diction? That, for example, Paul always uses 
Pauline language, and John Johannean language, and 
so on? 

Even if we could not account at all for this fact, it would 
have little weight against the explicit statements of God’s 
Word. Any one who is humble enough and wise enough to - 
recognize that there are a. great many things which we cannot 
account for at all which could be easily accounted for if we 
knew a little more, is never staggered by an apparent difficulty 


of this kind. But in point of fact it is easy enough to account 


for these variations. The simple explanation is this: the © 
Holy Spirit is wise enough and has facility enough in the use — 
of language in revealing truth to and through any individual — 
to use words, phrases and forms of expression which are in 
that person’s vocabulary and forms of thought to which that 
person is accustomed, and in every way to make use of that 
person’s peculiar individuality. It is one of the many marks 
of the divine wisdom of this book that the same divine truth 
is expressed with absolute accuracy in such widely varyion 
forms of expression. 


If the Bible is verbally inspired, why do not the | 
Gospel writers give Jesus’ and other persons’ words — 
exactly? I can understand how their accounts of acts — 
may differ, but His words cannot properly be rendered 
one way by Matthew and another way by Luke if ver. 
bal inspiration, as applied for instance to Galatians 3:16 — 
(‘‘seeds’’ or ‘‘seed’’), is correct. 

The Gospel writers do give “person’s words” exactly when it 











shy But while they give Jesus’ words exactly they do not pening 
claim to give all that He said, so Matthew may give part of 
what He said, and Luke another part of what He said, and _ 
to get all that He said both accounts must be taken. Mat- — 
thew gives the part that was adapted to his purpose, and 
Luke the part that was adapted to his. It is well that they 
are given in just this way, for it is one of the many inci- 
dental proofs that the Gospels are independent of one another 
and not composed in collusion with one another. 

Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that the words of — 
Jesus given by Matthew and Luke were spoken in Aramaic ~ 
and translated by Matthew and Luke into Greek. There is 
reason to suppose that the utterances recorded by Matthew, 
Mark and Luke were largely utterances that Jesus gave in 
Arainaic, while those recorded by John were largely those that 
Jesus spoke in Greek, for it must be remembered that in the 

time of Jesus the people in Palestine were a bilingual people. 


Gan I depend on the dates given in the margin of the 
Bible? ; 

- No, not at all. The dates in the margin of the Bible are 
‘not a part of the original text. They are the result of Arch- 
bishop Ussher’s work, and were very good for his time, and 
in a general way give an idea of when things occurred; but © 
great advances have been made in Biblieal scholarship since 
his day, and we now know that some of his dates are utterly 
unreliable. I do not know of any altogether satisfactory book 
in Bible chronology yet, but it is likely one will appear before 
@ great while in view of the added information on Bible times 
that is being afforded by excavations in Bible lands; 


How would you endeavor to interest an indifferent 
person in the study of the Bible? 

First of all I should get him to accept Jesus Christ as his 
Saviour, and then show him that the Bible is God’s Word to 





him, and that the only way to be strong and grow in grace 


is to study the Word. I would then explain to him some 
simple method of Bible study and set him at it. The best 
way for a converted person to become interested in the study 
of the Bible is to get to actually studying it. The more one 
studies it the more his taste for Bible study increases. 


What six books (say) of the Bible should a young 
convert read or study first? 

First of all, the Gospel of John. It is one of the profound- 
est books in the Bible, and yet there is much in it for the 
‘youngest believer. It was written for the specific purpose of 
bringing people to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God, that believing they might have life through His name 
(John 20:31), and there is nothing that the young believer 
needs more than to come to an intelligent, fixed faith in Jesus 
as the Christ, the Son of God. 

After reading the Gospel of John, I would have the young 
disciple read the Gospel of Mark, then Luke, then Matthew. 
After this I would urge him to study the Acts of the Apostles, 
then the Epistle to the Romans. I think after that I would 
set him to reading the whole New Testament throws: in 
the order of the books. 


Do you consider the Revised Version is more correct 
than the Authorized? 

As a rule the Revised Version is a more accurate rendering 
of the original than the Authorized, but there are some glar- 
ing exceptions to the contrary. A majority vote was taken 
in the committee of translation in order to reach a decision, 
where the translators differed. 


What is your advice regarding the value and the use 
of the American Standard Bible in general work? 

I think it is the opinion of the majority of Biblical scholars 
that the American Kevision is upon the whole the most 
accurate rendering into English of the original Hebrew of the 


2 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED . ge Ly (3 


s: _ obstacles are put in the way of its circulation over there. I : 
think every student of the Bible should have a copy of the a 
American Revision, and wish that it might come into common — 2 


they are likely to be familiar with the wording, and if I 


J It is unfortunate that there are two revisions. It is te pe: . 
bie 


ola Testament and the original Greek of the 
tt does not differ in many very importaaks : 
_Enslieh Revision. ; 
The American Standard Bible is not very sina 

_ England. This is partly due, undoubtedly, to the fac 








use. It is not, however, in common use, and the use of it 


with some people is confusing and necessitates explana- 
tions. The Authorized Version is a substantially accurate 
rendering of the original Scriptures, and as a rule or 
_ use it in dealing with inquirers, for the reason that 


should happen to use a text in the American Revision that 
varied in a striking way from the Bible to which they had ae 
been accustomed from childhood, they might get to thinking — 
about words instead of having their attention fixed upon the 
thought. 


greatly deplored that the two committees did not arrive at am 


_ agreement. 
eta 2 


ty 4 


on ie ‘There are some verses in the Bible that are not trans- 


fated the way you know that they were intended to be. 
When a man takes up those points with you, what do 


you tell him? 


I tell him we know now what the correct translation is, and I 
show him what it is. There is not one fundamental doctrine 
that has been touched by the variations in manuscripts or in 
translations. 


CARD-PLAYING. 


Is there any harm in a Christian playing a quiet game 


of cards at home? 
Yes. If we are to enjoy the fullest blessing that is possible 





Brats QUESTIONS ANSWERED 19 


wor us in Christ Teens we must keep absolutely free from 
every questionable thing, and cards are certainly questionable. 
They are the gambler’s chief weapon. More persons become 
gamblers through card-playing than in any other way. 
Thousands and tens of thousands of young men and women 
who started out playing cards without any thought that they 
would ever become gamblers have been sucked into this awful, 


maelstrom through the growth of the card-playing dient” 


Im countless instances the quiet family card table has proved 
to be the kindergarten for the gambling of hell.’ I knew a 
family where the boys were taught to play cards by their 
parents. Their parents proceeded upon the theory that home 
ought to be made so interesting that the boys would not care 
to go away from home at night. The home was indeed a 
pleasant home, and the theory worked very well for & while, 
_ but the time comes when boys do go away from home, There 
Were three boys in this family. Two of them learned to play 
yards, the other one had no taste for them. When the time 
eame for the family to break up and the boys to go out into 
the world, the two boys who had learned to play cards at home 
both pecame gamblers. This is only one instance among many. 
I could tell of young woman after young woman ard young 
man after young man who would have recoiled from the 
thought of gambling when they began to p play cards, but 
who afterwards found themselves in social positions where 
they felt compelled to play—first for prizes, and then for 
money—and they fell victims to the awful gambling mania, 

Matters are far worse in America today than they were tem — 
years ago. The incoming of bridge whist has wrought fright. 
ful inroads in our best families. There have~been some ap 
palling tragedies. Cards have brought immeasurable misery. 
They are a thoroughly unclean thing, and should be utterly 
renounced by every follower of Jesus Christ. 

Furthermore, card playing is a form of amusement which 
it is almost impossible to indulge in in moderation. With 
almost every one that plays cards card-playing becomes almost 
a mania. Middle aged men who play cards are soon putting 


se: Mt a aS Decay 


re — 


a 


or into moral and spiritual culture. Women that get. rd- 





time into card-playing that ought to be put 


Playing soon put time into the cards that they ought to ‘be 
putting into the care of their families and into the improve- 
ment of their minds. Young men and young women who 
get to playing cards put time into it that they ought to put 
into study and into preparation for larger usefulness. I could 
tell many instances that have come under my own personal 
observation of women who have neglected their home and 
children for cards, of men who have neglected their business, 
and of young men and young women who have neglected 
study. Card-playing is like wine-drinking. One mar drink 
wine moderately, but the overwhelming probability iu our 
land and day is that if he gets to drinking wine at all he will 
get to drinking immoderately. It is almost certain that if 
one gets to playing cards he will soon do it immoderately. 
It is not merely a fascinating game, it is an intoxicating and 
therefore perilous amusement. 

Besides all this, even if one should play cards without 
bringing injury to themselves they will bring harm to others. 
Young men and young women seeing a Christian playing 
cards will be encouraged to play them, and while the Christian 
may himself remain a moderate player all his days some of 
those who have been emboldened to play through his example 
will surely become immoderate players and eventually gam- 
blers. Here is a place where the words of the apostle Paul 
apply with great force: “It is good not to eat flesh, nor to 
drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stur- 
bleth” (Romans 14:21, R. V.), and his other words in 1 Co7in- 
thians 8:13, R. V.: “If meat maketh my brother to stumble! . 
will eat no flesh for evermore, that I make not my brother to 


stumble.” 


THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 

What advice do you give for making a success of the 
Christian life? 

There are seven steps in the path marked out in the Bible. 


§ . QUESTIONS ANSWERED | 21 


fe 
» 


1. Begin right. What a right beginning is we see in John 
£:12: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power 


to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His 


name.” ; 

Receive Christ as your Saviour who died for your sin. Trust 
the whole matter of your forgiveness to Him. Rest upon the 
fact that He has paid the full penalty of your sin. “For He 
hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we 


_ might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corin- 
- thians 5:21). 


} 


: 


Take Him as your Deliverer, who will save you from 
the power of sin, who will quicken you when dead in tres- 
passes and sins. Don’t try to save yourself from the power 
of sin. Trust Him to do it. 

Take Him as your Master. Don’t seek to guide your own 


life. Surrender unconditionally to His lovdship over you. It 
is a joyous life all along the way, the life of entire surrender. 
_ If you have never done it before and wish to make a success 


of the Christian life, go alone with God, get down on your 
knees, and say: “All for Jesus.” 

2. Confess Christ openly before men. Matthews 10:32: 
“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will 
I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.” Romans 
10:10: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, 
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The 
life of confession is the life of full salvation. 

38. Study the Word. 1 Peter 2:2: “As newborn babes, 
desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow there- 
by.” The Word of God is the soul’s food. It is the nourish- 
ment of the new life. One who neglects the Word: cannot 
make much of a success of the Christian life. All who get on 


_ in the Christian life are great feeders on the Word of God. 


4. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The one 
who would succeed in the Christian life must lead a life of 
prayer. That is easy enough if you only set about it. 

Have set times for prayer. The rule of David and Daniel, 
three times a day, is a good rule: “Evening and morning and 





- at noon will I pray, and cry aloud: and | 


voice” (Psalm 55:17); “Now when Daniel | 
writing was signed, he went into his house: and his 
being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem he 
his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave t 
before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10). Begin the 
day with thanksgiving and prayer—thanksgiving for the defin- 
ite mercies of the past, prayer for the definite needs of the 
present day. Stop in the midst of the bustle and worry and 
temptation of the day for thanksgiving and prayer. Close the 
day with thanksgiving and prayer. : “a8 







Then there should be the special prayer in special tempta- ‘ 


tion—when we see the temptation approaching. Keep 


to God. It is not needful to be on our knees all of the time. 


But the heart should be on its knees all the time. : 


There are three things for which the one who would make 


a success of the Christian life must especially pray. First, 
for wisdom—“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” 
(James 1: 5); second, for strength—“They that wait upon ‘the 


Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31); third, for 


the Holy Spirit—‘Your heavenly Father shall give the Holy 


Spirit to them that ask Him” (Luke 11:13). Ti you have 


not yet received the baptism with the Holy Spirit you should 
offer definite prayer for this definite blessing and definitely 


expect to receive it. If you have already received the baptism 


with the Holy Spirit you should with each new emergency 


of Christian work pray to God for a new filling with the Holy 
Spirit (Acts 4:31). : 

5. Go to work for Christ. Matthew 25:29: “For unto 
every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abund- 
ance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even 


that which he hath.” The context means that those who use > 


what they have will get more, and those that let what they 


have lie idle will lose even that. The working Christian, 
the one who uses his talents, whether few or many, in Christ’s 


sServiee, is the one who gets on in the Christian life here, and 
who will hereafter hear the “Well done, thou good amd faith 


ful servant, enter theu inte the jey ef thy Lord.” 


a 


Re dS iy Se et ee PD 
a ee ae “a5 
| yee f oe 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED _ 23 





Find some work to do for Christ and do it. Seek for work. 
If it is nothing more than distributing tracts or invitations 
_ do it. Always be looking for something more to do for Christ, 

‘and you will always be receiving something more from Christ. 
‘6. -~Give largely. Proverbs 11:25: “The liberal soul shall 
_ be made fat”; 2 Corinthians 9:6, 8: “He which soweth spar- 
_ ingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bounti- 
_ fully shall reap also bountifully. And God is able to make 
_-all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all 
' sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” 
a ‘Success and growth in Christian life depend on few things 
| more than upon liberal giving. A stingy Christian cannot be 

@ growing Christian. It is wonderful how a Christian man 

begins to grow when he begins to give. 

7. Keep pushing on. “Brethren, I count not =e to 
have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those- 
_things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things 

which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of 
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14). 

Forget the sins which lie behind. If you fail anywhere, 
_ if you fall, don’t be discouraged, don’t give up, don’t brood 
_ over the sin. Confess it instantly. Believe God’s Word: 

“If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us 

eur sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 

1:9). Belieye the sin is forgiven, forget it, press on. Satan 

beguiles many a poor soul here. He keeps us brooding over our 

failures and sins. 


Forget the achievements and victories of the past, and press 


- on to greater. Here, too, Satan cheats many of us out of 
the larger life. He keeps us thinking so much of what we 
have already obtained, and makes us so contented with it, and 
go puffed up over it, that we come to a standstill, or even 
backslide.- Our only safety is in forgetting those things which 

_ are behind, and pressing on. There is always something better 
ahead until we “come... unto a perfect man, unto the measure 
of the stature of the fulness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13). 


aes ae 
4 é 
nf 


~ 


eee PRACTICAL AND 


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10 ee AO aot sare 
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CHRISTIAN SCIENCE. 


How would you prove the error of Oncislop ices 

Many in our day are being led astray into Christian Science. 
Most Christian Scientists claim to believe the Bible. Take 
them, therefore, to 1 John 4:1-3: ~ f 

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether 
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out 
into the world of God. Hereby know we the spirit: every 
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the desh 
is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus 
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that 
spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, 
and even now already is it in the world.” ~_ 

This passage strikes at the very foundation of Christian 
Science, which denies as one of its fundamental postulates the 
reality of matter, the reality of the body, and (of necessity) 
the reality of the incarnation. Show them by this passage that 
the Bible says that every spirit that confesses not Jesus Christ 
come in flesh is not of God, but of antichrist, and se not 
“Christian.” 


' 

Why do you believe the claim of Mrs. Eddy to have 
received the tenets of Christian Science by divine in- 
spiration to be false? 

First of all, because it has been proved that she got her 
theories from a man by whom she was treated;_that in writing 
her first book in its original form she did not claim it was 
original or received from God, but that she was writing down 
the views frankly confessed of this person by whom she had 
been treated and under whom she studied. 

In the second place, I know the claim that she received 
the tenets of Christian Science from God is false because the 
tenets themselves are false. Mrs. Eddy denies the reality of 
the incarnation, and this is one of the primary tests of the 
truth or falsity of any system or doctrine, the decisive question 
to ask of any spirit and any system of doctrines, as shown in 







’ 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 25 


the previous question. Mrs. Eddy also denies the atonement, 
the fundamental truth of the Gospel. Her view of the atone- 
ment is not the one taught in the Bible, namely, that Jesus 
Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on the cross 
(1 Peter 2:24; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13). These are only some 
of the many great errors in the teaching of Mrs. Eddy. 
There are, it is true, some elements of truth in the teach- 
ings of Christian Science. Every false system must have 
some true teachings in it, otherwise it could not be made to 
go at all. Every dangerous system of error takes some truth 
and distoris':and perverts it and covers it up with @ mnass 
of error. That the mind has a tremendous influence over the 
body and that much disease can be overcome through the 
mind is unquestionably true. That God answers prayer and 
in answer to prayer heals the sick is taught in the Bible and 
taught by experience. That Jesus Christ had a mission for 
the body as well as for the soul is clearly taught in Scripture, 
and that a great deal of harm has been done by the use of 
' drugs every wise physician admits. Mrs. Hddy has taken 
these truths, which the church oftentimes has lost sight of, 
and starting out with these truths has made an open door 
for the introduction of a vast amount of destructive and 
damning error. If the church had been truer to its own mis- 
sion and given to men a real and full and satisfying Gospel, 
the great majority of those who have fallen a prey to Mrs. 
Eddy would have escaped the snare. 


THE CHURCH. 


What are the conditions of entrance into the church? 
The word “church” in the New Testament is used, first, of 
-~the whole body of believers in Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18; 
Acts 20:28; 2:47; Hphesians 5:24, 25; Colossians 1:18, 24). 
Second, it is used of the body of believers in any place, as 
(for example) the church of the Thessalonians (1 Thessaln- 
ians 1:1). Third, it is used of the loca: congregations meeting 
regularly for the breaking of bread an. worship and tessking 





eo 


as ‘(tor example) the “feed that met in ‘Rome 
of Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:5). 


£4 


My cake 


os _ deeper meaning are acceptance of Jesus Christ as one’s per- 


i 


vA, 





a 


sonal Saviour, surrender to Him as Lord and Master, and 


, pen confession of Him before the world (Acts 2:38, 41, 47). 


’ The conditions of entrance into local churches are deter- 
mined by the churches themselves. Most churches receive 
members upon satisfactory evidence that they have really 
forsaken sin, accepted Christ as their personal Saviour, and 


surrendered their lives to Him. Some churches require sub- 


scriptions to a creed more or less full. . All the evangelical 


churches exeept the Friends require water baptism on the | 
part of the applicant for membership, either as an infant or 


an adult. ; 
What should an earnest Christian do in a day when 
the churches are so full of worldliness and error as they 


are today? Should he join the church? 
Yes. I fully recognize the worldliness that there is in many 


The conditions of entrance into the church in its first and 


_. churches today, and the error that is taught from many a 


1 
GQ 
ar) 


pulpit; but after all is said the church is the best organization 
there is in the world. What would the world be today if it 
‘were not for the churches which are in it? The churches 


<e _ even with all their-present imperfections are the a ee nd 


that are saving society from utter corruption. 


Any Christian can accomplish more for the salvation ef 
souls and the upbuilding of Christian character and the good 
of the community by uniting with some church than he can 
by trying to live a Christian life all alone by himself. 

There may be times when one has to utter his protest against 
sins of a glaring character in some individual church, and 
when that protest will not be heard, and when it may be neces- 
sary for him to withdraw as a testimony against that church. 
But these occasions are comparatively rare. 

Great corruption—unspeakable immorality, in fact—had 
erept into the church in Corinth, and yet Paul did not hint 


for a moment te any of the members of that church that they — 





ae 


- QUESTIONS ANSWERED 27 





should withdraw from it. He did write them to judge the 
evil and put it away, but not a suggestion that they should 
withdraw. Even Jesus did not withdraw from the synagogues 
of His day until He was put out. Synagogue worship had 
become full of formality and error, and yet it was the custom 
of our Lord to attend the synagogue on the sabbath day (Luke 
4:16). The apostle Paul followed His example in this matter 
(Acts 17:2). nt 
There are many earnest Christian men and women today 


who have lost all power and influence for God and good in 


the community by coming out of their fellowship with other 
believers who were not as well instructed as they, and by 
giving themselves up to harsh and censorious criticism. 

Of course, if the pastor of a church persistently preaches 
glaring and pernicious error, one should enter his protest 
against it and should not allow his children to sit under that 
kind of false doctrine. - 4 

It is true that in the Book of Revelation men are bidden to 
come out of Babylon, but Babylon is not yet formed. Every- 


Siete Se ee ee oY SS. State A oe is 
ti, PRS 1 . ‘ . . 


thing in the Book of Revelation after the 4th chapter and Ist | 


verse describes the time after the rapture of the church, 
not the present time, and it is handling the Word of God 
deceitfully and not rightly dividing the Word of truth to apply 
this command to come out of Babylon to the present sn 
and the present state of the churches, 


Do you believe in having different denominations? 

Do sects do more harm than good in the cause of 
religion? 

Undoubtedly sects do more harm than good in the cause 
of religion, for the very thought of sect is of something that 
makes division. The animating spirit of the sect is division. 

But a denomination is not necessarily a sect. The different 
denominations have arisen because different persons saw somé 
truths very clearly that others did not see, and around these 
persons other people have gathered to enforce that particular 
phase of truth. For example, the Congr>gationalists and the 


A ie 


i 








rns 


re Wee ee As A es Po eg 7! 
y ; Lar < Pat 4, 


# 98 PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXING 


Presbyterians arose in England and Scotland to Liall 01 

truth of the liberty of the individual believer. Many other 
truths were associated with this in the development of these 
_ denominations. The Quakers arose to stand for the truth of 


4 the illumination and guidance of the Holy Spirit for the in- 
dividual believer today. The Methodists arose to stand for 


the truth of definite personal experience of regeneration and 
the necessity of a holy life. Afterwards other truths, such 
as the freedom of the will, became prominently associated 
with these in the teaching of the Methodist denomination. 
By standing strongly for some neglected truths that needed to 
be emphasized the denominations have doubtless done good. 
In the present imperfect state of man, where no individual 
is large enough to take in the whole scope of God’s truth, 
and where one man sees one line of truth strongly and another 
man another line of truth, denominations have been necessary. 
But it is well that denominational lines are now fast sinking 


out of sight and each denomination is coming to understand ~ 


and accept the truths for which other denominations have 
stood. 


What do you think of the institutional church? Is it 
not detrimental to the real work of the church as set 
forth in the New Testament? 

By an institutional church I understand a church that not 






/ 


only does the direct work of preaching the Gospel and baild-— 


ing Christians up by teaching the Bible, but a church that also 
looks after the physical and mental welfare of its members 
and congregation by. various institutions. Such work is not 
necessarily detrimental to the real work of the church as set 
forth in the New Testament. It may be a valuable auxiliary, 
provided that the physical and intellectual are — in thorough 
subordination to the spiritual. 

The apostolic church was in a measure an institutional 


ehurch. {t looked out for the physical welfare of its members, — 


all property was held in common (Acts 2:44, 45; 4:34, 35; 
6:1-4), and the Word of God increased and prospered under 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 29 


these circumstances (Act: 2:47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7). Of course, 
the institutions were not many, nor very largely developed. 
In a similar way_today the church can have various institu- 


tions for looking after the physical and intellectual welfare 


of its members. If it is located among the poor it can have 
savings institutions, a society for buying coal at the cheapest 
rate, libraries, educational classes, and so forth, and accom- 
plish a- vast amount of good, and make all this subservient 
to the preaching of the Gospel. All these things can be used 
as means of getting hold of men, women and children and 
bringing them to.a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

But there is always a danger in an institutional church. 
The danger is that the institutions get to be the main thing 
and the Gospel be put in a secondary place, or altogether lost — 
sight of. This has been the history of more than one institu- 
tional church in this country, and it is always a danger. 
In such a case the institutional church becomes detrimental 
to the real work of the church as set forth in the New Testa- 
ment. The first work of the church is seeking and saving the 
Yost (Luke 19:10; Matthew 5:19), its second work is feeding 
the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), and its third work is 
training the membership for intelligent service (Ephesians 
4:11, 12, R. V.). If the institutions connected with the church 
are allowed to put any one of these three things in the back- 
ground, they do more harm than good, but if the institutions 
are carried on in the spirit of prayer and with the intention, 
never lost sight of for a moment, of winning men for Christ, 
and everything is made subordinate to the preaching of the 
Gospel and the salvation of the lost and the edification of the 
saints, the institutions may be very helpful. 

But the more experience I have with churches and ministers” 
the more the feeling grows on me that the chureh that 
is needed today is not so much the institutional church “as 
the evangelistic church. 






Is it ever right to ask unconverted ‘ehnugt seine 
ple to teach a Sunday school class or do other inite 
se ete tecistion work in the church? peices 
Boe “Byer” is a pretty comprehensive word. The ideal way 
48 to have only thoroughly regenerated and spiritually minded — 
- people to teach a Sunday school class or to sing in a choir. 
_ The church with which I am connected takes the ground that 
_ the very first condition of admission to membership in our 
_ choir is that the person applying should give good evidence of 
being born again. The second condition is that they have a 
voice for singing. But I can conceive of conditions where zi 
it would be warranted to set an unconverted person to teach — 
a Sunday school class. For example, if I should go into a 
mining town where there was no Sunday school and no re- 
ligious work of any kind, if I could start a Sunday school 
there before I left the town and get some moral person te 
teach the Bible, if there was no regenerated person to get, 
I believe I would start the school and trust that the Spirit ef - 
_ . God would use the Scripture as a blessing to both the teacher 
and the taught. I would take the appointment of this person 
_ as a teacher as an opportunity to urge upon him the ar 
of a personal acceptance of Christ. 
Ym holding our meetings around the world, the committess 
_ that organized the choirs often received persons that I do 
- not believe were really converted, and I have used the fact 
that they were in the choir as an opportunity of getting at 
them, and hundreds of persons have thus been converted te 
God. 





What authority is there for or against women being 
prominent in church work? 

There is no authority in the Bible for a woman to have the 
place of supremacy in the church. When she takes it she 
steps out of her right place. She goes against the plain teach- 
ing of the Bible when she takes the place of the authoritative 
teacher in the church (1 Timothy ~2:12).. 













QUESTIONS ANSWERED | Sie 
But there is abundant Bible warrant for her being active 
— nd (in that sense) prominent in church work. Women 
were the first divinely commissioned preachers of the risen 
-. Christ. Jesus Christ Himself sent them to declare His resur- 
rection to the men disciples (John 20:17; 18; Matthew 28:9, 
_ 10). Women were endued by God with prophetical gifts (Acts 
21:9). In the very chapter in the Bible in which womer 
are forbidden to do idle talking and asking questions in the 
' chureh there are directions as to how a woman should proph- 
_ esy, that is, how she should speak in the power of the Spirit 
_ (1 Corinthians 11:5). The apostle Paul speaks of the women 
who had labored with him in the Gospel (Philippians 4:3). 
\There is plain indication that Priscilla was more gifted than 
her husband Aquila. She was associated with her husband in 
taking the preacher Apollos aside and expounding unto him 
the way of God more carefully (Acts 18:26), and her name is 
mentioned first (see R. V.). 


What is the Scriptural means of raising money for 
church or other Christian uses? 

By the free will offerings of saved people, each one laying 
aside in store on the first day of the week a definite propor- 
tion of his income (1 Corinthians 16:2). . 

Certainly it is not the Scriptural way of raising money to 
raise it by fairs, bazaars or any other method that reduces 

- the church of Christ to the level of the vaudeville entertain: 
ment. These methods are unwise even from a business stand - 
point, and they certainly are dishonoring to Jesus Christ 
Those are the successful churches that step out in obedienca 
to the Word of God and depend upon the freewill offerings of — 
the people, and they soon find they have more money for 
their own work and more money for foreign missions than 
those churches have that stoop to dishonor their Lord by 
?aising money in such a way as makes the church a reproach 
®ven among people of the world. 


Would you ask an unsaved person to contribute 


32 PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXING _ 





f 
money or goods for the support or benefit of church 
work? 

No, I would not. God is not dependent upon His enemies 
for the carrying on of His work.- God’s work should be sup- 
ported by the glad freewill offerings of His own people, as ex 


_ plained in the previous answer. 


Furthermore, when unsaved people give to the support or 
God’s work it frequently acts as a salve to their conscience, 
and it makes them harder to reach. They say: “I am sup- 
porting the church,” and many of them hope to get to heaven 
that way. 

Of course, if some unsaved person of his own yolition shoula 
see fit to put money into the contribution box, or something 
of that kind, I would hesitate to insult him or take the respon- 
sibility of refusing his money, but I should let it be distinctly 
understood in taking collections that it was not the money 
but the souls of the unsaved we were after and that men 
should give themselves first to the Lord before they gave their 
money. 


THE COMING AGAIN OF JESUS CHRIST. 


Does the Bible teach that Jesus Christ is coming back 
to this earth personally and visibly? 

It does. There is nothing more clearly taught in the Bible 
than that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth personally, 
bodily and visibly. In Acts 1:11 the two men in white appare} 
who stood by the disciples as they gazed steadfastly into 
heaven after Jesus as He was taken up before their eyes, said: 
“This same Jesus which was received up from you into heaven 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into 
heaven.” Now they had seen Him going into heaven person- 
ally bodily, visibly, and they were told He was to come back 
just as He had gone. 

An attempt has been made by those who deny the personal 


return of our Lord to say that “in like manner’ means “with 


equal certainty,” but the Greek words translated “so in like 






QUESTIONS ANSWERED 33 


_ nanner” permit of no such construction. They are never 
so used. Literally translated they mean “thus in the manner 
_ which,” and are never used as describing anything but the 
manner, the precise manner, in which the thing is done. 
Jesus Christ is coming back exactly as the disciples saw Him 
_ going, personally, bodily, visibly. 
_ The same truth is taught in John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 
r 4:16, 17; and many other passages. In Hebrews 9:28 we are 
told: “So Christ was offered to bear the sins of many, and 
unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time 
without sin unto salvation.” The word which in this passage 
is translated “shall appear” translated literally would be 
“shall be seen.” It is a word only used of seeing with the 
eye. In Revelation 1:7 we read: “Behold, He cometh with 
_ clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which 
bruised Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because 
_ of Him.” : 
_ These very plain promises cannot by any fair system of in- 
e- terpretation be made to refer to the coming of Christ in the 
_ Holy Spirit, as some would say. The coming of the Holy . 
_ Spirit is in a very real sense the coming of Christ (see John 
14:15-18, 21-23). But it is not the coming referred to in these 
passages, and cannot be made such except by perverting the 
plain words of God. 
Nor is the coming described in these passages the coming 
of Christ to receive the believer at the time of his death. 
The details given do not fit the death of the believer. : 
Neither do these passages refer to the coming of Christ at 
the destruction of Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem 
Was in a sense a precursor, prophecy and type of the judgment 
at the end of the age, and therefore in Matthew 24 and Mark 
13 the two events so described are in connection with each 
other. But God’s judgment on Jerusalem is manifestly not 
the event referred to in the passages above given. After the 
- coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and after the destruc- - 
~ fion of Jerusalem, the coming again of Jesus Christ, which is so 
— ypeteed mentioned in the New Testament, is the great 





future. (See, for pit SE John 21:22,23; F 
22:20). - 


How is Jesus Christ coming again? 

As already said, He is coming personally, visibly and bodily. 
But further than this, He is coming with great publicity 
(Matthew 24:26, 27; Revelation 1:7). Every now and then 
some one appears in sOme corner of the earth who is an- 
nounced to be Christ in His second coming, but these “inner 
chamber” Christs and ‘obscure corner” Christs are a humbug 
long since predicted and exploded. Christ is coming in the © 
clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). 
He is coming in the glory of His Father with the holy angels 
(Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, R. V.). He 
is coming unannounced, without warning, unexpectedly, sud- 
denly (Revelation 16:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3; Matthew 
24:87-89; Luke 21:34, 35). 


Do you believe that the second coming of Gurls is 
hear at hand? If so, why? ‘What should we do to att 
pare for Him? 

As far as I know our Lord may return again any day. 
There is no event predicted in Scripture that must occur 
before Jesus comes to receive His own to Himself, although 
it seems as if there are some events that must occur before 
He comes to the earth with His saints (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4, 
8). As far as we know He may come for us believers at any 
moment, and He Himself has bidden us to be always ready — 
because in such an hour as we think not He is coming again 
(Matthew 24:44). = 

Furthermore, there seem to be indications that His coming 
‘draweth nigh. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 gives a very accurate de 
scription of our own time. The increase of unbelief in the 
professing church and in the pulpit, the growing unrest in 
the social and political world, the apparently rapid develop- 
ment of the Antichrist—all these thines *sem to point te the 





- QUESTIONS ANSWERED e 35 


_ fear approach of our Lord. But we should bear in mind that © 
earnest men of God and students of the Bible have often 
_ thought im times past that the coming of the Lord was very 
_ near, and it was, and they were not mistaken. Those that 
thought it was so far away that they allowed it to have no 
effect upon their pres were the ones who were really mis. 
taken. 

Today men’s hearts are “failing them for fear’ and “for 
expectation of things which are coming on the world” (Luke 
21:26, R. V.). But when the true believer and intelligent 
student of the Word sees these things begin to come to pass 
he will not be discouraged, but will look up and lift up his 
head because he knows that his redemption draweth nigh 
(Luke 21:28). We should all let our loins be girded about 
and our lights be burning, and we should be like unto men 
that wait for their lord when he returns from the wedding, 
that when He does come and knock we may open unto Him 
immediately (Luke 12:35, 36). 


What is the logical and adequate explanation of Mat- 
thew 16:28, where Jesus said: ‘‘Verily I say unto you, 
There be some standing here which shall not taste of 
ae ae they see the Son of man coming in His king- 

om’’ 

The answer to this question is evident if one reads right on, 
ignoring the chapter division between the 16th and 17th chap- 


ters of Matthew. This division is not a part of the original 
Scriptures, but an editor’s addition, and sometimes the divi 


sion is made in an illogical way—noticeably so in this case. 

After quoting the words in question Matthew goes on to 
describe the transfiguration of Christ. In this transfiguration 
‘Jesus, the Son of man, was seen “coming in His kin?dom.” He 
was manifested in the glory that is properly His. If things had 
taken their natural course He would then and there have been 
glorified without passing through death, but He turned His back 
upon that glory and went down from the mountain to meet the 
awful tragedy of His death, the only way in which He could 


36 
redeem men. It was of His decease (atoning death) iol 
Moses and Elijah spoke with Him when they appeared with 
Him in the glory (Luke 9:31). This transfiguration, beheld 
by some who were standing with Him when He uttered the 


words found in Matthew 16:28, was the Son of man seen com- 
jing in His kingdom. 





CONFESSION OF SINS. 


Ought we to confess our sins to man, or only te God? 
First of all, we should confess them to God. David says 
in Psalm 32:5: “I acknowledge my sin unto Thee (that is, 
the Lord), and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said: “I will 
confess my transgression unto the Lord,’ and Thou fergavest 
the iniquity of my sin.” In 1 John 1:9 we read: “If we 
confess our sins (and it evidently means, unto God) He is 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins a to cleanse us from: 

h all unrighteousness.” 
7 But if we have sinned against man we should confess our 
sins to the man against whom we have sinned. We should 
a be reconciled to our brother who has aught against us (Mat- 
€ thew 5:23, 24). It is well also to confess our sins ene to 
another in order that we may pray one for another (James 
5:16). There is not the slightest hint, however, that this 
means that we should confess our sins to a priest any more 
than to any other brother. It says: “Confess one to another,” 
and there is no more reason why we should confess our sins 
to a priest than that the priest should confess his sins to us. 
If we have sinned publicly we should make public confession 
of our sins. But there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that 
one should make a detailed public confession of all his trans- 
gressions, or even that he should confess to any man every 
sin that he has committed. Religious impostors often require 
this of their disciples, and in this way they get a hold over 
their disciples and rule them by fear of exposure. One of 
the best known religious impostors of modern times got a 
old upon his people in this way. He made them confess 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED | ae 


Pverything mean and vile that they had done, then he ter- 
torized them, got their money from them, made slaves of 
them. There are some things that a man should keep to 
himself and God. 


CONSCIENCE AS GUIDE. 


Is conscience a sufficient guide for man? 

No. Conscience, using the word in the sense of the moral 
intuition that every man possesses that right is right and 
wrong is wrong, and that we each of us ought to take our 
stand upon the right to follow it wherever it carries us, is 
sufficient to lead us to an absolute surrender to do the right 
whatever it may be, but then there comes the question of what 
is right. Conscience, in the sense of moral judgment as to 
what is right or wrong, is certainly not a sufficient guide to 
man. Many men do conscientiously things that are utterly 
wrong because their moral judgment has been improperly 
educated. Conscience needs to be enlightened as to what 
is right by divine revelation and by the personal illumination 
of the Holy Spirit. 

If we surrender ourselves to do the right wherever it carries 
us, amd make an honest search for the right and the true, 
we shall be led to see. that Jesus Christ is the Son of God 
and a teacher sent from God (John 7:17), and then we will 
bring eur moral judgment to Him for education. Having 
accepted Jesus Christ as the Son of God and a teacher sent 
from God, we will be logically led by the study of His Word — 
to accept the entire Bible as the Word of God, and will con- 
sequently take it as our guide in conduct. Furthermore, we 
will be led to see that it is our privilege to be taught of the 
Holy Spirit and to be guided into right conduct by Him. 


CONSECRATION. 


What is meant by consecration? How often should a 
person consecrate himself? 
In modern use (which, by th way, is not the Bible use) 


Ss wore “consecration” means. the surrendering of ne’s 


“ and all that one has wholly to God. The word “sancti 












a 


used in the Bible has practically the same meaning “when 


mi applied to sanctifying ourselves. It means to set apart tor 


God. 

Every Christian should consecrate himself once for all to 
God. ‘He should put into God’s hands all that he is and all 
that he has, for God to use him and his as He will, to send 
him where He will and do with him what He will. Having 
thus consecrated himself he should never take himself out 


' of God’s hands. But many do consecrate themselves to God 


and afterward go back on their consecration, as Samson did, 
and are shorn of their strength, as Samson was. In such 
a case a man should re-consecrate himself to God, and even 
-where a man has not taken back his consecration it is a good 
thing to constantly re-acknowledge it in order that one may 
keep it distinctly in mind. 

Furthermore, consecration gets a deeper sieutheatas the 
longer we live. At one time of our life we may give ourselves 
up wholly to God as far as we understand it at the time, 
but as we study the Word and grow in grace consecration 
will ever gain a deeper meaning. I believe I have been wholly 


- standing of what it means to be wholly God’s than I have 


ever had before. 


- 


CONVICTION OF SIN. es 


How is conviction of sin produced? 2 

What character of preaching would you advise to 
bring to the people a realization of the awhelall of sin, 
and to bring upon them conviction of and for sin? 

The law was given to bring men to a knowledge of sin 
(Romans 3:20), and I find that the preaching of the law 
does bring men to such a knowledge. I preach on the Yen 
Commandments, looking to the Holy Spirit to show men how 
they have not kept them. I also preach on Matthew 7.73, 





the se-called Golden Rule, to show people they have not kept 
that and therefore cannot be saved by the Golden Rule: “All 
_ things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do 
_ you even so to them.” I preach on Matthew 22:37, 38, and 
by the use of these verses seek to show people that they have 


not only sinned but they have broken the first and greatest — 


of God’s commandments: “Jesus said unto him: Thou 


shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all 


thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great 
commandment.” 

But we read in John 16:9 that the sin of which the Holy 
Spirit convicts men is the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ, 
and we see in Acts 2:37 (compared with the words of Peter 
that precede) that the sin of which the Holy Spirit convicted 
so many thousands on the day of Pentecost was the sin of 
rejecting Jesus Christ. Working along this line I find that 
holding up before men the majesty and glory of Jesus Christ 


and the sacrifice He made for us, then driving home the .- 


awfulness of the sin of rejecting such a Saviour, brings the 
deepest conviction of sin. 

But in all our preaching we must bear in mind that it is 
the Holy Spirit, not we ourselves, who convicts men of sin. 
He does it through the truth that we present, but we must 
Tealize our dependence upon Him and look to Him and count 
on Him to do the work. Here is where many make a mistake. 
They try to convict men of sin instead of putting themselves 


in such an attitude toward the Holy Spirit that He will oe : 


men through them. 


DANCING. Se 


Where does it say in the Bible that dancing is a sin? 
It does not say anywhere in the Bible that dancing is a sin. 
Dancing is not a sin. Dancing is perfectly proper in its 
place. It is an expression of joy, even sometimes of religious 
joy. Miriam the prophetess and the women who were with 


her danced in their joy over their deliverance from tha” 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 39 


: 


. 


Re ee 





40 PRACTICAL AND PERP 


Egyptians (Exodus 15:20), and God seems to have been 
pleased. David danced before the ark. There is a time to 
dance. There is no wrong whatever in dancing in the proper 
time and in the proper way. 

But mixed dancing, the dancing of men with women in the 
way in which it is carried on today even in the most select 
dancing parties, permits a familiarity of contact between the 
sexes that is nowhere else allowed in decent society. It is 
the cause of untold sin and misery. It is forbidden im 2 Corin- 
thians 6:17, R. V., where we are told to touch no unclean 
thing—and the modern mixed dance is unquestionably am un- 
clean thing. It is immodest, impure, unwholesome. 


Is it right for a Christian to dance? 

It is not right for a Christian to do anything that will bring 
reproach upon the cause of Christ or in any wise lessen his 
or her own influence for Christ. One can imagine conditions 
under which a Christian could engage in a square damce with- 
out bringing reproach on the cause of Christ, but the question 
is not what are the conditions that we can imagine but what 
are the conditions that actually exist today. It is impossible 


: under existing conditions for any Christian to dance without 


bringing reproach upon the cause of Christ or without lessen- 
ing his or her own influence for Christ. 

In the dance as it exists today in America and in England 2 
familiarity of contact is permitted between the sexes that 
is nowhere else permitted in decent society. This is tree in 
the most select dances that are held. If any lady should 
permit any gentleman except her Husband, father or brother, 
to handle her anywhere else as he handles her on the dancing 
floor she would be regarded as immodest and umwomanly, 
if nothing worse. Certainly these attitudes do not become 
any better when taken accompanied by strains of seductive 
music, and by movements which have beyond a question a 
morally deleterious effect upon many that engage in them. 
I have no doubt that many a pure girl engages in the modern 
dance without evil thoughts, -but I know that many of the 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 41 


men, probably the overwhelming majority who dance with 
her, do have evil thoughts. The hardest fight that the young 
man of today has on hand is the fight for purity in thought 
and act, and there is scarcely any other institution known to 


' modern society that makes the fight for purity in thought and 


act so hard for the young man as the modern dance. If 
modest young women could hear the young men who dance 
with them in the most select parties talk afterwards among 
themselves I feel confident that no self-respecting young 
woman would ever engage in the dance again. These are not 
pleasant facts to contemplate, but they are facts, and we eught 
to face them. . 

Furthermore, the Christian young woman who dances loses 
her influence with many of those whom she desires te win 
for Christ. While the world constantly seeks to allure be- 
lievers into compromise with itself, and oftentimes praises 
them for liberality and breadth of thought if they do indulge 
with them in their questionable pastimes, nevertheless at 
heart the world despises a compromising Christian. 


Further still, the dance interferes with the love of Bible 


study, the love of secret prayer, the love of service for Christ. 
It does not help but hinders the spiritual life in all directions. 
No Christian can dance without suffering for it beyond descrip- 
tion, and without bringing reproach op the cause of Christ. 
Every true Christian desires for himself the highest possible 
spiritual attainment, he will be satisfied with nothing less. 
The dance beyond a question interferes with such attainment. 


DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 


How would you prove that Jesus Christ is really the 
Son of God? 

First of all, I would prove that He rose from the dead. 
Of this there is abundant proof. I have given it elsewhere 
(in The Bible and Its Christ) and will not repeat it here. 
The fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead proves deyond 
a question that He is the Son of God. 





WF, 7 Sw ne Qa 


PRACTICAL AND PERPLE} 





"When He was here upon earth He rapeabintyy declared | 
He was the Son of God, the Son of God in a unique 8 nse, 
_ the Son of God in a sense in which no other man is the Son 
of God. In Mark 12:6 He taught that while the prophets, 
even the greatest of them, were servants, He was a Son, an 
only Son. In John 5:22, 23 He taught that all men should — 
honor Him even as they honored the Father. In John 14:9 
He went so far as to say: “He that hath seen Me hath seen 
the Father.” Men hated Him for making this claim to be 
the Son of God, they put Him to death for making this claim 
(Matthew 26:63, 66), but before they put Him to death for 
_ making this claim He told them that God would set His seal 
to the claim by raising Him from the dead. It was a stupen- 
dous claim to make, it was an apparently absurd claim, but 
God did set His seal to it by raising Jesus from the dead. 
By doing this God Himself has said more clearly than if He 
should speak from the open heavens today: 

"This Man is what He claims to be. He is My Son. All 

men should honor Him even as they honor the Father.” 
' Jesus Christ proves Himself to be the Son of God by the 
claim He made to be the Son of God and by the way in which 
He substantiated that claim by His resurrection from the 
dead. , 

But He also substantiated it by His character, by its beauty _ 
and strength and nobility. The character of Jesus Christ is 
well nigh universally admitted. Jews nowadays admit that. 
The most notorious infidels have admitted it. Even Col. 
Ingersoll once said: 

“I wish to say once and for all, tc that great and serene 
Man I gladly pay the homage of my admiration and my tears.” 

But here is this Man, whom all admit to be a good Man, a 
Man of honor and of truth and of nobility, claiming to be the 
Son of God. Certainly a Man of such character was what 
He claimed to be. 

He substantiated His claim furthermore by the méracles 
which He performed. Herculean efforts have been put forth 
to discredit the Gospel stories of Christ’s miracles, but these 
efforts have all resulted in utter and lamentable failure 















"> 


ae FY eae * * 
=- ~ - <n. 


He substantiated His claim by His influence on the history 


ef the world. It needs no argument to prove that Christ’s 
influence upon the history of the world has been beneficent 


immeasurably beyond that of any other man who ever lived. © 


His influence upon individual life, domestic life, social life, 
Industrial life, political life, it would be foolish to compare 
with that of any other man, or that of all men put together. 
Now if Jesus Christ was not divine as He claimed to be, 
He was a blasphemer and an impostor or else a lunatic. It 
is easy to see that His influence upon history is not that of 
a lunatic, or that of a blasphemer and impostor. Then cer: 
tainly He must have been the Son of God as He claimed. 

I would furthermore prove that Jesus Christ is the Son 
of God by pointing to the fact that He possesses divine power 
today. It is not necessary to go back to the miracles Christ 
performed when upon earth to prove that He has divine power. 
He exercises that power today and any one can test it: 

(1) He has power to forgive sins. Thousands can testify 
that they came to Christ burdened with an awful sense of 
guilt, and that He has actually given their guilty conscience 
peace, absolute peace; 

(2) He has power today to set Satan’s victims free. He 
sets the one chained by drink free from the power of drink, 
the ene chained by opium free from the power of opium. You 
may say various cures do this, but the cases are not parallel. 
These various cures use drugs, Christ a mere word. Christ 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED Be %,, 


sets free not only from vices but from sin. He makes the — 


impure man pure. He makes the’ selfish man unselfish, the 
devilish man Christlike. He recreates men and women. 


The divine influence that Jesus Christ is exerting today over 


the lives of countless men and women proves beyond a per- 
adventure that He is the Son of God. I know Jesus Christ is 
divine because of the divine work that He, and He alone, 
has wrought in my own life. 


ea 


~ 


a s 





3 


x 






PRACTICAL AND PERF 
DEPRAVITY OF MAN. 


What do you mean by the doctrine of total depravity, 
and how do you prove it? 

By the doctrine that man is totally depraved we do not mean 
that he is totally corrupt. The doctrine is that the will of 
the unregenerate man is set upon pleasing self and is therefore 
totally wrong, for it should be set upon pleasing God. The 
will that is not absolutely surrendered to God is turned the 
wrong way. But while seeking to please himself a man may 
do things that are morally attractive and beautiful. A man 
is not necessarily drawn to vicious and disgusting things. He 
prefers things that are high and noble and true, yet he may 
not prefer them because they are what God wills but because 
they are the things that attract him. He is as truly depraved 
as the man who chooses the vicious things, but his tastes 
are not as corrupt as those of the man who chooses vicious 
things. What every unregenerate man needs is a total turn- 
ing around of his will, so that he no longer seeks to please 
himself but surrenders himself in all things to do the things 
that please God and because they please God. 

We prove the doctrine of total depravity, first by the Serip- 
tures. For example, Romans 8:7—“The carnal mind is enmity 
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither 
indeed can be”; Ephesians 4:18—“Having the understanding 
darkened, being alienated from the life of God through ~ 
the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their 
heart”; Jeremiah 17:9—“The heart is deceitful above all 
things, and desperately wicked”; and many other Scriptures. 

We prove it also by an appeal to facts. The picture of the 
unregenerate man given in the Scriptures at first sight seems 
to be too dark, but as we come to know men better—espe- 
cially as we come to know ourselves better, and above all 
as we come to know God better and see ourselves in the light 
of His holiness—the Bible doctrine is found to be absolutely 
accurate. 


‘ QUESTIONS ANSWERED ois 
THE DEVIL. 


Do you believe in a personal Devil? 

Most assuredly I do. I could not believe in the Bible without 
believing in a personal Devil. I have conclusive proof that 
the Bible is the Word of God, therefore I believe what it 
teaches about the existence of a personal Devil. ; 

In the account of the temptation of our Lord recorded in 
the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we are distinctly teld that 
the Devil (and the whole account evidently means a personal 
Devil) was the author of the temptations that came to our 
Lord (see Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). -These accounts have 
no meaning if we try to make the Devil of the pasgaey a 
mere figure of speech. 

Furthermore, our Lord in the parable of the sower (in 
Matthew 13:1-23) distinctly teaches that there is a personal 
Devil. The Devil does not appear in the parable, where it 
might be explained as being figurative, but in the interpreta- 
tion of the parable:. “Then cometh the wicked one...” Now 
‘n parables we have figures, and in the interpretation of 
parables we have the literal facts for which the figures stand, 
so we have a literal Devil in the interpretation of this parable. 
-It is only one of the numerous instances in which Jesus 
teaches the existence of a personal Devil. 

Paul teaches the same, as (for example) in Ephesians 6:11, 

12, R. V.: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may 
be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For our 
wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the prin- 
cipalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this 
darkness, against tke spiritual hosts of wickedness in the 
heavenly places.” 
_No -ational interpretation of the Bible’ can interpret the 
Devil out of it. Any system of interpretation that does away 
with the Devil would do away with any doctrine which a man 
does not wish to believe. 

But I also believe that there is a personal Devil. because 
my Own experience and observation teach me the existence of 








an unseen, very subtle, very -omatag spirit of evil, who 


5 





A hee 53 ¢ . 


domination over men throughout human society wherev 
found. The more I come in contact with men, the more en 
study history, and the more men open their hearts to me, the ~ 
more firmly convinced I become that there is such a Devil as 
the Bible teaches that there is. 

It is not pleasant to believe that there is a personal Devil, 
but the question is not what is pleasant to believe but what — 
is true. 


Why did God create Satan, or the Devil? 

Because God is love. God created him whom we-new call 
Satan as a being of very exalted glory. A hint of what Satan 
Was as originally created we get in Ezekiel 28:12-15, R. V.: 

“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in 
beauty. Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God. _Bvery : 
precious stone wast thy covering. ..:The workmanship “of thy 


-tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in-the day that thou 


wast ereated they were prepared. Thou wast the anointed 


_cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so, so that thou wast 


upon the holy mountain of God. Thou hast walked up and 
down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in ~ 


_ thy ways from the day that thou wast created till unrighteous. 


ness was found in thee.” 

Because he was a being of such exalted glory he was a 
moral being, that is, a being with the power of choosing good 
or evil. He seems to have been the one that led the worship 
of the universe. But ambition entered his heart. He seems to 
have tried to direct to himself what properly belonged to 
God, and thus he fell. Falling from such a height he fell to 
the deepest depths and became that appalling being that he 
now is. The Devil of Scripture is not a hideous-looking being 
with horns and hoofs, but a being of very lofty intelligence 
who has turned his mighty powers to wrong and has thus 
become the great enemy of God and man. 


Can God destroy Satan? 
We do not know that it is taught anywhere in the Bible 


. =~ YF fs, a ad 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 47 


a that God can destroy Satan, but God certainly can destroy or 
annihilate any beings that He has created if He sees fit. If 
He brought them into being He can put them out of being, 
otherwise God would not be omnipotent. " 

But it is clear from Scripture that to destroy Satan is not 

His will. Satan will exist and be tormented day and night 
forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). 

If the question refers to Hebrews 2:14 the word “destrey” 


there means “bring to nought,” not “annihilate” (see Revised ~ 


Version). 


‘Why does not God destroy Satan if He is omnipotent? 

Because God has not yet worked out His purposes through 
Satan. Though Satan himself is evil God accomplishes His 
purposes of good through him. The day will come when 
we will understand what these purposes are, and will thank 
God even for Satan. God will make not only the wrath of 
man, but the wrath of Satan, to praise Him. The messenger 
of Satan that was sent to buffet Paul worked only good for 
Paul. He kept Paul from being exalted above measure (2 
Corinthians 12:7). 


DIVORCE. - 


- Does the Bible permit 2 man under any circum- 
stances to divorce his wife and marry another while the 
divorced wife is still living? 


It is perfectly clear that the Bible does not permit of di- 


vorce and remarriage on any ground but one, and that who- 
soever puts away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, 
“maketh her an adulteress” (Matthew 5:32), and that if he mar- 
ries another he himself commits adultery (Matthew 19:9). This 
much is plain as day, namely that there is only one Scriptural 
ground for divorce and remarriage, namely, impurity on the 
part of the other party. 

It is, however, objected to by some who hold that remarriage 
even on this ground is not permitted by Scripture; that in 
Romans 7:2, 3, it is stated without at.y exception that a weman 


48 PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXI 


eS 
e 
we 


who hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband se 
jong as he liveth, and that if while her husband liveth she 
be married to another she should be called an adulteress. The 
answer to this seems evident, namely, that Paul in Romans 7 
is not discussing the question of divorce but is simply using 
the matter of the marriage obligation as an illustration. The 
only point that illustrates is the point of death, and it would 
have been entirely out of his way to have gone into the matter 
of exceptions to the general law, as they had no bearing 
whatever on the question that he was discussing. The words 
of Christ seem to clearly imply that one may divorce his wife 
and marry another in this one case of infidelity, and be guilt- 
less before God. 

It would seem, however, that if one had contracted an un- 
fortunate alliance of this kind, he would better remain single, 
at least until the death of the offending party, and thus avoid 
trouble in the flesh. But if one has divorced husband or wife 
on the ground of adultery and has already married another. 
there is no Scriptural reason why he or she should feel con- 
demnega. 


ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. 
Do you believe in the eternal punishment of the 


wicked? ; 


What proof is there of eternal punishment? 

We know nothing positively and absolutely about the future 
except what God Himself has been pleased to reveal in His 
Word. All beyond this is pure speculation, and man’s specu- 
lations on such a subject are practically valueless. God knows 
all about the future, and God has been pleased to reveal some 
things that He knows about the future. On such a subject 
as this an ounce of God’s revelation is worth tons of man’s 
empty speculation. God has clearly revealed in the Bible the 
fact of eternal punishment for those who persist in sin and 
in the rejection of Jesus Christ, and this is conclusive proof 
of its reality. I have shown ‘n another book (The Bible and 







Pees. ee ¥ 
: 2 
a . * . 


; QUESTIONS ANSWERED 49 


Its Christ) that the Bible is beyond question the Word of God. 
What the Bible says God says, and the Bible distinctly teaches 
the eternity of punishment of those who persistently reject 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, as (for instance) : 
Matthew 25:41, 46—“Depart from Me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire prepared ivr the Devil and his angels...These 
shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous 


into life eternal’; Revelation J9:20; 20:10; 21:8—“And the 


beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought 
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had 
received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped 
his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burn- 
ing with brimstone. And the Devil that deceived them was 
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and 
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night 
for ever and ever. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the 
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, 
and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake 
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second 
death.” 

The expression “for ever and ever” used of the lake of fire 
prepared for the Devil and his angels,- to which the per- 
sistently wicked also go, is used twelve times in the Book 
of Revelation. Eight times it refers to the duration of the 
existence or reign or glory of God and Christ, once to the 
duration of the blessed reign of the righteous, and in the 
three remaining instances to the duration of the torment of 
the Devil, the beast, the false prophet and the persistently 
wicked. 


Does the Bible teach eternal torment for all of the 
unsaved? If so, where? 

The Bible teaches in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 that when the 
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ali those that know not 
Gnd and obey not the Gospel vf our Lord Jesus Christ shall . 
be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. The question 


4 





~ defines the term. We are told in Revelation 17: 8, 11 that mae: 


rte beast goeth into perdition.” The word rendered “perdition” 


\ 


in both Authorized and Revised Versions, the same word» 
_ which is elsewhere translated “destruction,” 1s derived from 
the verb that is constantly translated “destroy.” The word 


should therefore be translated “destruction” in this passage. 


So then if we can find out what the beast goeth into, we shall 
find out what “perdition” or “destruction” means. By turn- 
ing to Revelation 19:20 we find that the beast was cast alive 
into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Turning again — 
to Revelation 20:10 we find that at the end of a thousand 
years after the beast was cast into the lake burning with — 
brimstone the Devil was cast into the lake burning with 
fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet 


still are after a thousand years, and that they shall be - 


“tormented day and night for ever and ever.” So then this 
is what “destruction” means in Bible usage—“‘a portion in 
the lake of fire.’ Whether this is taken literally or figura- 
- tively it certainly means a condition of being in a place of 
es sonacious and unending torment. 


Bz How could a loving God create some of His creatures 


for eternal punishment? 


God did not create any of His creatures for eternal punish- 
ment. God created all persons to love and obey Him, and % 
enjoy Him forever, but He created some of them as a higher 
order of beings with the capacity of ehoosing for themselves,- 
good or evil. Some chose evil. But even then God did not 
abandon them, but made the greatest sacrifice in His power 
to save them from their own mad choice. He gave His Son 
to die for them, that repentance and forgiveness and life and 

glory might be possible for them. If men see fit not only to 
choose evil but having chosen evil to deliberately and per- 
sistently refuse the means of salvation which a loving God 
has provided for them at immeasurable cost to Mimself, then 
their eternal punishment. is their own fault, and to blame 






Oe yt RT i! Se ee aha nee 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 51 


3 God for it is not only to be appallingly unjust but unpardon- 
_ ably ungrateful and unreasonable. 


How can an infinitely holy and merciful God con. 


_ demn creatures He loves to everlasting punishment? 


It is not so much that God condemns any one to everlasting 
punishment as that men and women condemn themselves to 


- everlasting torment by refusing the mercy and grace of God. 


Many men not only choose sin but they also choose to refuse 
the wonderfully gracious redemption from sin that God has 


_ provided. If men will not allow themselves to be saved from 


sin’ they must necessarily continue in it, and if they continue 
in it they must necessarily suffer torment as long as they con- 
tinue in it. The time must come, sooner or later, when 
Tepentance becomes impossible, and so of course salvation 


- becomes impossible. The everlasting torment which any one 


may endure will be simply the inevitable result of his-ewn 


_ deliberate and persistent choice of sin. 


Is it not unjust to punish a few years of sin with an 


_ eternity of torment? 


The duration of the punishment of sin can never be deter: 
mined by the time it takes to commit the sin. A man can 
kill another man in a few seconds, but a just penalty would be 
life-long imprisonment. 

Furthermore, sin involves separation from God, and separa- 


tion from God is torment. The torment must continue as — 
long as the separation from God exists, and the separation — 
_ from God must exist until sin is repented of and the Saviour 
accepted. The time must come when repentance and the 


acceptance of the Saviour become impossible, then one becomes 
eternally confirmed in his separation from God, and eternal 
torment must necessarily follow. 

Further still, it is not a few years of sin that bring the 
. eternity of punishment. A man may continue many years 


 & sin and still escape eternal torment if he will only repent 
_ @nd accept Jesus Christ. It is the rejection of Jesus Christ 


“ 


4 ae 


x 
a 







52 ~ PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXING 
that brings an eternity of torment. When we see sin in all 
its hideousness and enormity, the holiness of God in all its 
perfection, and the glory of Jesus Christ in all its infinity, 
nothing but a doctrine that those who persist in the choice 
of sin and who persist in the rejection of the Son‘ef God, 

whom God in wonderful grace gave to die for our sins that 

we might have salvation—nothing but a doctrine that those 

who do this shall suffer eternal anguish will satisfy the de 

mand of our own moral intuitions. Nothing but the fact tha’ 

we dread suffering more than we hate sin and more than we 

love the glory of Jesus Christ, makes us repudiate the thought 
that beings who eternally choose sin should eternally suffer. 

or that men who despise God’s mercy and spurn His Son 

should be given over to eternal anguish. E 


Would an earthly father consign his child to ever- 
lasting suffering? And if he would not, can we believe 
that God is not as good as we are, and that He would 
treat His children in a way that we would not treat 
ours? 

This question takes it for granted that all men are Goas 
children. The Bible teaches that this is not true. All mep 
are God’s creatures and were created originally in His like. 
ness, and in this sense they are all His offspring (Acts 17:26- 
29), but men become God’s children in the fullest sense by 
being born again of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-6) through the 
personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Saviour (John 
1:12; Galatians 3:26). 

Second, God is something beside the Father even of believers. 
He is the moral governor of this universe. “As a righteous 
moral governor of the universe He must punish sin, and if 
sin is eternally persisted in He must eternally punish it. Even 
a wise earthly father would separate one of his own children 
who persisted in sin from contact with his other children 
if a man had a dearly beloved son who was a moral monste? 
he certainly would not allow him to associate with his daugh 
cers. If one whom you greatly loved should commit a grose 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 53 


wrong against some one you loved more, and should persist 
in it eternally, would you not consent to his eternal punisk 
ment? 

Third, it is never safe to measure what an infinitely holy 
God would do by what we would do. As we look about us in 
the world today do we not see men and women suffering 
agonies that we would not allow our children to suffer if we 
could prevent it? What one of us eould endure to see our 
children suffering some of the things that the men and women 
in the slums of the great city are suffering today? Why a 
God of love permits this to go on it may be difficult for us 
to explain, but that it does go on we know. What men and 
women suffer even in the life that now is as a result of their 
disobedience to God and their persistence in sin and their re- 
jection of Jesus Christ ought to be a hint of what men will 
suffer in the eternal world if they go on in sin as the result 
of their having rejected the Saviour in the life that now is. 
It may seund well to say: “I believe in a God of love, and 
I do not believe that He will permit any of His creatures 
to go te an eternal hell,” but if we open our eyes to the facts 
as they exist about us on every hand we will see how empty 
our speculations on this point are, for we do see even now 
this same God of love permitting many of His creatures to 
endure awful and ever-increasing agonies in the life that now 
is. 


If any one is lost eternally, has not Satan then gained 
the victory over Christ, and is he not stronger than 
Christ? 

No, Satan has gained no victory. It is not Satan who deter- 
mines that one shall persist in sin, it is the individual himself 
if he persists in sin Satan has gained no victory, and on the 
other hand Jesus Christ is not conquered. Jesus Christ will 
still be glorified, and God will be glorified. God’s holiness 
is manifested and God Himself is glorified as truly in the 
punishment of the sinner as in the salvation of the believer. 
Righteous government here on earth “s vindicated as truly 


ies 





“ 

43 when the offender is locked up in prison or executed as 
_ the offender is brought to repentance. 

Tie Many seem to think that hell is a place ruled i Satan, Pear 
Satan does not rule there. Satan himself will be one of the 
prisoners, and the smoke of the torment of this persistent 
rebel against God arises for ever and ever as a testimony that 
God has conquered. . . 


EXISTENCE OF EVIL. 


How can God permit evil to exist in the world? — 
~When we enter the domain of asking how can God do this 
or that we need to tread very softly, for God is a being of 
infinite wisdom and we know almost nothing. When we think — 
how vast God is and how infinitesimal we are we do well to 
hesitate about questioning as to how God can do anything. ~ 
An infinitely wise God may have a thousand good reasons for 
doing things when we in our almost utter ignorance canno} 
see one good or even possible reason. 

Having said this much we may add that evil seems to be a — 
necessary accompaniment of good. Moral good is the highest 
good, and freedom of choice is necessary to the attainment 
_ of moral good. In fact, no being can be good in the highest 
sense unless it is possible for him to do evil, but if it is pos- 
sible for him to do evil he may do it. God created all beings 
g good, but the highest beings were created with the power of 

choice. They could choose disobedience to God if they would. 
One of the very highest of such beings, he whom we now 
call Satan, chose evil. God created man also with the power 
of choice, and the first man chose evil, and the whole race 
followed him. Thus evil entered into the world as the out- 
come of God’s haying created man on the highest plane, that 
is, with the lofty power of choice. 

God permits evil to continue in the world until He has 
fully worked out His own beneficient plans. When we come 
to see no longer through a glass darkly but face to face we 
will doubtless rejoice that God did permit evil to uxist im the 
world. 





or alee ae 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 55 





FAITH. 


What do you mean by justification by faith? 
Is faith the only means of salvation? - 
The Greek word rendered ‘to justify” in the New Testament 


 aveording to its*etymology means “to make righteous,” but 


this meaning is extremely rare in Greek usage, if not alto- 
gether doubtful, and it certainly is not the New Testament 
usage of the word. ‘To justify” in Biblical usage signifies not 
“to make righteous” but “to reckon, declare, or show to be 
righteous.” A man is justified before God when God reckons 
hhm righteous, that is, when God not only forgives h’*; sins 
but puts all positive righteousness to his account. 

Where is one condition upon which men are justified before 
God: simple faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:26; 4:5; 5:1; 
Aets 13:39). It is the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the 
cross in our place that secures justification for us (Romans 
5:9; Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21). His shed blood is 
the ground of our justification, and simple faith in Him makes 
that shed blood ours. Provision is made for our justification 
by the shedding of His blood; we are aetually justified when 
we believe in Him who shed His blood. Faith is the only 
means of appropriating to ourselves the atoning virtue that 
there is in the-blood of Jesus Christ. If one will not believe 
there is nothing he can do that will bring him justification. 


If one does believe he is justified from all things the moment i 
he believes (Acts 13:38, 39). Not only are all his sins put 
out of God’s sight, but in God’s reckoning all of God’s own 
righteousness in Jesus Christ is put to his account. When 
Jesus Christ died upon the cross of Calvary, He took our place © 


(Gal. 3:10, 13), and the moment we believe on Him we step 
into His place, and are just as pleasing to God as Jesus Christ 
Himself is. 


I would like to believe, but cannot. Will God con- 
demn me for something I cannot do? 
- Ne, God will not condemn you for something you cannot do; 


Sach pare eee a a ey ee ~ =f | ee xa > >a if 
Rast 4 ; 
A u, r P 


Z 


oe ae 


eee OP Rn ee er oe 
i, ke pea? eh 





56 PRACTICAL AND PER 


et proof that the Bible is the Word of God and that Apoorers 
Christ is the Son of God, proof enough to convince any one ‘ 
who really wants to know and obey the truth. 

I have given in my book The Bible and Its Christ conclusive 
evidence that the Bible is God’s Word and that Jesus Christ 
is God’s Son, but one does not need to read books like that. 
There is plenty of proof in the Bible itself. John says in 
John 20:31: “These are written (that is, the things con- 
tained in the Gospel of John) that ye might believe that Jesus — 
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might ~ 
have life through His name.” We here see that life comes ~ 
through believing that Jesus is the Christ. the Son of God, 
and that believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 
comes through studying what is written. If any one will take 
the Gospel of John and read it the right way he will know 
and believe before he gets through that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of God, and he will have life through believing it. 
Now what is the right way to read it? . 

First of all, surrender your will to God. “If any man wilieth 
to do God's will, he shall know of the teaching that it is from 
God” (John 7:17, R. V.). One can read the Gospel of John 
again and again and not come to believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God, if he reads it with an unsurrendered 
will, but if a man will first surrender his will to God te obey 
God whatever it may cost him he cannot read the Gospel of 
John through once without coming to see that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of the living God. 

Second, each time you read look up to God and ask Him to. 
show you how much of truth there is in the verses you are 
about to read, and promise Him that you will take your stand 
upon what He shows you to be true. Do not read too many 


verses at once. Pay careful attention to what you read. Read 


with a real desire to learn the ‘truth and to obey it. By the 
time you get through the Gospel you will find that you can 
believe. In fact, you will find that you do believe. 

The reason that men do not believe is either because they 
are not living up to what they do helieve, they have not 





: 


a a 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED a 


‘surrendered their wills to God, or else they do not study the 


‘evidence that is calculated to produce belief. Men neglect 
‘their Bibles and read all kinds of trashy unbelieving books 
and then keep saying: 

“T can’t believe! I can’t believe!” 

A man might just as well feed himself on poison instead of 
food and then complain that he is not healthy. There is 
abundant evidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and 
faith is a matter of the will—it is willingness to yield to the 
sufficient evidence. Unbelief is the refusal to yield to the 
Sufficient evidence. Unbelief is a matter for which every 
unbeliever is responsible. 

God demands that we believe, that we yield our wills to the 
truth which He has abundantly revealed. Faith is the one 
thing that God demands of man, because it is the one thing 
above all else that we owe to God (John 6:29). Without 
that faith which is due to God it is impossible to please Him 


_ (Hebrews 11:6). If I had a child that did not believe in me 


nothing else that he could do would please me. 


FALLING FROM GRACE. 


How do you harmonize the Calvinistic view of the 
perseverance of the saints with the Arminian belief of 
falling from grace? 

If I understand the Calvinistic view it does not teach the 
perseverance of the saints but the perseverance of the Saviour. 


While it teaches that the saints are utterly unreliable and 


might fall away any day or any hour it also teaches that the 
Saviour is ever watchful and ever faithful—for He ever liveth 
to make intercession for the believer (Hebrews 7:25)—and that 
He has pledged Himself that those who believe on Him shall 
never perish (John 10:28), and has given His word for it 
that He and His Father will keep us to the end, and that no 
man is able to snatch us out of the hand of Himself and 
the Father (John 10:28, 29, R. V.). This does not mean that 
if a man is once born again and then lies down in sin he 


tet. na 








_ will not be lost forever. 
to it that the one who is born again will not lie dor 







med - Re : 
It means that Jesus Chri 


gin. He may fall into sin, he may fall into gross sin, but _ 
Jesus Christ has undertaken his recovery. He will-go after 
the lost sheep until He find it (Luke 15:4). There is no 
warrant here for one to continue in sin saying: “Iam achild — 
of God and therefore cannot be lost.” There is no comfort — 
whatever here for such a one. If one lies down in sin and — 
continues in sin it is a proof that he is not a child ef God, 
is not saved, never was regenerate (1 John 2:19). ah 

What the Arminians object to is not the doctrine of the 
faithfulness of the Saviour, that He will prove true eyen 
though we prove faithless; what they object to is such a 
doctrine of “once in grace, always in grace” as enables a man 
to ge on sinning and seeking to justify himself by saying: 
“T have been saved, therefore I have been in grace and am in 
grace still.” 

We need to be on our guard on the one hand against the i 
doctrine that gives us comfort in continuance in sin. We need 
to be on our guard on the other hand against that distrust 
of Jesus Christ that makes us fear that some time we shall - 
prove unfaithful and Jesus Christ will desert us. The position - 


that we ought to hold is that held by the apostle Paul, 


__-where he asserts on the one hand: “I know whom I have be- 


lieved, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which 
I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Timothy 
1:12), but which leads him on the other hand to keep his 
body under (to give his body a black eye) lest when he has 
preached to others he himself should become a castaway (1 
Corinthians 9:27). é 


FASTING. 


Ought Christians to fast? 

Yes, Christians ought to do anything in their power that 
will bring blessing to themselves or others, and beyond a ques. 
tion fasting brings blessing: in many instances to the one 
who fasts and in many instances *o others. 






al 


i 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 59 


It is sometimes said that fasting belonged to the Jewish 
Teligion but not to the Christian, but this contradicts the 
plain teaching of the Bible. In Acts 13:2 we are told that 
it was while they “ministered to the Lord and fasted” that 


the Holy Ghost spoke to the leaders of the church in Antioch. ~ 


In the 8rd verse we are told that it was after they had “fasted 
and prayed” that they laid their hands on Saul and Barnabas, 
and sent them away. In Acts 14:23 we are told that at the 
ordination of elders they “prayed, with fasting.” There is 
no virtue in one’s going without his necessary food, but there 
is power in that sense of our own unworthiness that leads 
us to humble ourselves before God by fasting, and in that 


downright earnestness in seeking the face of God that leads 


one away even from his necessary food that he may give 
himself up to prayer. 

If there were more fasting and prayer and less feasting and 
frolic in the church of Jesus Christ today we would see more 
Tevivals and more wonderful things wrought for God. 


A FAULTLESS LIFE. 
Can a person live a faultless life? 


No one does live a faultless life and no one can live a 


_ faultless life unless he is perfect in knowledge. The sincerest 


2 
5 


J 


men and women may make mistakes in moral judgment. We 


are constantly growing in our knowledge of God’s will as — 


we study His Word. If at any point we fall below God’s 
highest will our life is not faultless. 


But while we cannot live a faultless life we can live a blame- 
less life, that is, we can live up to our highest understanding 


of God’s will as revealed in His Word. We are not to blame 
for what we do not know except when our lack of knowledge 
is the result of our own neglect. (See Colossians 1:22; 4 
Thessalonians 2:10; 3:13; 5:28; etc.) 

‘Every child of God should aim to lead a blameless life, ‘ow 
those who lead the most blameless lives are the most con- 
scious of their deficiencies and know how far their lives are 
from being absolutely faultless. 


og tc ty ie Tatneft: a Meas eae POR i 
eye sey aut oe > § vi a ? , ¥ 











FOOT-WASHING. > ey, 

Why do not Christians generally wash the feet as 
commanded in John 13: 4-16? 

There is no commandment here that every Christian should 
wash every other Christian's feet. Nor is there today any 
church in which every Christian washes every other Chris- 
tian’s feet. There is a command here that when some other 
Christian needs to have his feet washed (John 13:10) we 
should be ready to perform even so menial a service as this 
for him, and thus do as Jesus did to His disciples in their 
need. 

There is not the slightest indication that Jesus at this time — 
appointed a ceremony to be performed in the church. The 
disciples came in from the road with their feet dusty. They 
had already bathed earlier in the day (vv. 9, 10, R. V.), ana 
therefore did not need a total ablution, but with their open 
sandals their feet had become dusty. Each one of them was 
too proud to wash the other disciples’ feet. There was no 
Servant present to do it, so Jesus, though He knew He had 
come from the Father and was going to the Father, and that 
the Father had given all things into His hands, arose from 
the table and performed for them the menial service that 
was needed. 

This is as unlike as can be imagined from the mere per- 
formance of the ceremony of washing feet that do not need 
to be washed for the sake of doing the same thing that Jesus 
did. The lesson of the passage is plain enough, namely, that _ 
we ought to have that love for one another that makes us 
ready to perform the lowliest service for one another. 


FOREKNOWLEDGE AND FOREORDINATION. 


How do you reconcile man’s freedom of choice with 
God’s foreknowledge and foreordination? 

Please explain the meaning of the passage: ‘‘Being 
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowl- 
edge of God’’ (Acts 2:23). : 


= 
a 


- 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 6) 


This means that the actions of Judas and the rest were 
taken into God’s plan, and thus made a part of it. But it 
does not mean that these men were not perfectly free in their 
choice. They did not do as they did because God knew that 
they would do so, but the fact that they would do so was the 
basis upon which God knew it. Foreknowledge no more ie- 
termines a man’s actions than after-knowledge. Knowledge is 
determined by the fact, not the fact by knowledge. 

Practically the same explanation’ applies to Romans 8:29, 31: 
“Whom He did foreknow He did also predestinate to be cen- 
formed to the image of His Son.” 


Kindly explain Acts 13:48—‘‘And as many as were 
ordained to eternal life believed.’’ Are some born to 
be lost? 

God knows from all eternity what each man will do, whether 
he will yield to the Spirit and accept Christ, or whether he 
will resist the Spirit and refuse Christ. Those who will receive 
Him are ordained to eternal life. If any are lost it is simply 
because they will not come to Christ and thus obtain life 
(John 5:40). Whosoever will may come (Revelation 22:17), 
and all who do come will be received (John 6:37). 

God does not ordain any one to be lost against his own will, 
but in God’s infinite wisdom and holiness it is ordained that 
whosoever deliberately and persistently rejects His glorious 
Son shall be banished forever from His presence. 


FOREIGN MISSIONS. 


What part ought foreign missions to have in the life 
of the church and the individual believer? 

A very prominent part. Our Lord’s last command te His 
disciples was: “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all 
the nations” (Matthew 28:19). It was in connection with this 
work that He promised His own personal fellowship. He said 
that when we did this: ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world.” If then the ividividual believer wishes 








to have personal fellowship with Jesus Christ he 
{nto all the world and make disciples of all the pat es 
may not be able to go in his own person, but in that case 
he can go by his gifts and by his prayers. Any Christian 
who is not deeply interested in foreign missions is not in fel- . 
lowship with Jesus Christ. 

Since a true church is a company of obedient believers, what. 
is true of each believer will be true of the church, with the 
added power and blessing that issues from cooperation. ML: 






-, 
a 
1 
o 


FORGIVENESS OF SINS. ad s 


What does John 20:23 mean: ‘‘Whose soéver - 
remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever 
sins ye retain, they are retained’? A Roman Catholic 
said to me that this passage taught that the priest had 
power on earth to forgive sins. Does it teach this? 

“The meaning of the verse is very clear if you notice pS 
what is said and the exact connection in which Jesus said it. 
‘In the preceding verse Jesus had breathed on the disciples and 
said to them: “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” Then He said 
to them: ‘Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven 
unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are re- 
tained” (R. V.). In other words, Jesus taught that a disciple 
who had received the Holy Spirit would get the power of 
spiritual discernment whereby he would know whether there 
had been true repentance or not, and whose soever sims this 
Spirit-filled disciple pronounced meat they were indeed 
forgiven. 

The promise was not made to an official priest but to disci- 
ples who had been filled with the Holy Spirit. If a priést 
were filled with the Holy Spirit he doubtless would receive 
this spiritual discernment, but a man who is not a priest 
(except in the sense that all believers are priests) and who 
Teceives the Holy Spirit may have this spiritual discernment. 
There are times when any Spirit-filled man knows that a 
pretence of repentance which another man makes is nat 


ee th ae, tae ier Seep 
“qe < P = 


a a, 


7 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 83 





genuine, and because of this he declares to that man that 

B his sins are not forgiven, and that men’s sins are not forgiven. 
On other occasions he will see that repentance and faith are 
Pecnaine and declare to the man that his sins are forgiven. 

q Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, exercised this power in 
_ Acts 8:20-23. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, exercised it in- 
Acts 13:9-11. And many a humble believer has this Spirit- 
given discernment today. There is no mention whatever of © 

! priests in the passage, and absolutely nothing that the Roman 

- Catholie can build upon to prove that the priest as such has 

e on earth to forgive sins. 


THE FUTURE LIFE. 


_ What becomes of our spirits when we die? 

Does the Bible teach an intermediate state of the 

dead? 

- Upon death does one’s soul pass straightway to 

; heaven or hell, or is there an intermediate state? 

_ Immediately at death the spirit of the believer departs to 

_ be with Christ in a state which is very far better than that 
‘in which it exists here on earth (Philippians 1:23, R. V.). It 

7 is “absent from the body, at home with the Lord” (2 Corin- 

4 thians 5:6-8, R. V.). But this is not the final state of blessed- 

hess of the redeemed. In our final state of blessedness the 
spirit is not merely unclothed from its present mortal body 
j 





but clothed upon with its resurrection body (2 Corinthians 

5:1-4). We obtain this resurrection body at the second coming 
of Christ, when the bodies of those that sleep in Christ are 
“raised from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:15) and the bodies 
of believers then living are transformed in the twinkling of 
an eye and this corruptible puts on incorruption (1 Corin- 
‘thiams 15:51-53). 
_ On the other hand, immediately at death the spirits of the 
wicked depart into that portion of Hades reserved for the 
wicked dead, where they exist in conscious and great torment 
“ike 16:19-81). But this is not their final condition of 


, 








in sin are raised again to stand before the great white tenons: 
of God and to be judged and assigned to their final condition 


of torment (Revelation 20:11-15;21:8). It is then that they 


enter into their final and fullest suffering. Just as the re- 
deemed spirit is clothed upon at the coming of Christ with its 





glorious resurrection body, perfect counterpart of the redeemed — 


spirit that inhabits it and partaker with it in all its jey, so 
the wicked are to be clothed upon with a body, perfect coun- 
terpart of the lost spirit that inhabits it and partaker with it 
in all its misery. 


GIVING. 


Do you believe in tithing your income for religious 


purposes? 
Yes, as the starting point in Christian giving 


What is the Bible rule for a Christian in the matter 
of giving money for religious work? 

The Christian is not under law in the matter of giving. 
That is to say, there is no absolute law laid down that a 
Christian should give just so much and no more. A Christian 
should consecrate all that he has to God. Bvery penny of his 
money should belong to Him. The money he spends upon 
himself and his family should be spent that way because he 
thinks God would be more honored if he spent it that way 
than some other way. 

The Jew was under the law to give one-tenth of his income, 
and over and above that he was expected to give freewill 
offerings. This Jewish law ought to be a suggestion to us as 
<o where we should begin our giving. We should begin. by 


to be less generous than a Jew. But a Christian should not 
stop with a tenth. He should seek guidance as to the use of 
every penny he has in addition to the tenth. 

Many who fellow the plan of giving one-tenth have found 


giving one-tenth to Christ, for a Christian certainly ought not : 


ae pa? eS Se be 
2 5s ' “ : 


os 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 65 


great blessing in it, and many have found a prosperity in their 
business after they have set apart onetenth to the Lord that 
they never found before. Most Christians who do not give a 
tenth fancy that they give more than a tenth, but when they 
come to set apart the tenth of their income they find that 
they have much more to give than they had before. 

The “rule of three” given by Paul to the Corinthian church 


in connection with the collection for the poor Christians in ~ 


Jerusalem contains helpful principles for giving: “(1) Upon 
the first day of the week (2) let every one of you lay by him 
in store (3) as God hath prospered him” (1 Corinthians 16:2). 


Does Matthew 5:42 teach that a Christian should give 
to every one who asks him for money if he has it m his 
pocket? 

Matthew 5:42 undoubtedly teaches that the disciple of Jesus 
Christ should give to everyone that asks of him, but it does 
not teach that he should necessarily give money. When Peter 
and John were appealed to in Acts 3:2-4 by the lame man at 


the Gate Beautiful they gave to him, but they did not give 


him money—they gave him something better. Paul distinctly 
says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “If any man will not work, 
neither let him eat.” This does not mean that if a man is a 
tramp we should not give him when he asks, but it does mean 
that we should use discrimination in what we give him. 

Immediately after the verse in Matthew referred to Jesus “ 
tells us to be like our heavenly Father who “maketh His sun to 
rise on the evil and on the good, and on the just and the 
unjust.” Our giving should be patterned after our Father’s. 
He gives to every one that asks, but He does not always give 
just what they ask. 


GOD. 


Do the names ‘‘God,’’ ‘‘Lord,’’ and ‘‘Lord God,”’ 
all mean the same person—God? 
Yes, in the Old Testament. They are different names of 


6 











the deity standing for different conceit of Him. rhe ena 7 
“God” is the more general name of the deity. The name- 
“Lorp,” printed in small capitals in the Authorized Version 
and the equivalent of “Jehovah” (see American Standard 
Bible), is the name of God regarded as the covenant God of 
Israel. The name “Lord” is generally used of Jesus im the 
New Testament. 

There is a school of critics that would have us think that 
the use of these different names of the deity indicates a differ- 
ent authorship of the different portions of Scripture where - 
the names are used. This for a long time was the favorite 
argument of the destructive critics, who tried to make out — 
that the Pentateuch (for example) was a patchwork of por- 
tions written by different men, but the argument has been rcs 
oughly discredited. 

The names of God are very carefully used in the Bible, and 
make an interesting and profitable study. 


How would you prove the existence of God to an in- 
quirer? 

' It would depend somewhat upon the inquirer. If he was an 
earnest seeker after truth I would pursue one line: If he was | 
a mere triffer I would pursue another. 

In general, I would ask a man what he did believe, I would 
ask him specifically: 

“Do you believe there is an absolute difference between right | 
and wrong?” 

In 999 cases out of 1,000 he would answer: “Yes.” 

Then I would say to him: “The way to get more light is 
to live up to the light you have, the way to get more truth — 
is to live up to the truth you have. .You say you believe there 
is an absolute difference between right and wrong: will you 
live up to that? Will you take your stand upon the right to 
follow it wherever it carries you?” 

Very likely he would try to dodge, but I would hola him 
right to it. If finally he said: “No,” then I would say to him: 

“The trouble with you is not in regard to what you do 


TER ie 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 6% 
not believe, but in fact that you do not live up to what you 
do delieve.” 

He would see that and be silenced. If he said that he would 
take his stand upon the right to follow it wherever it carried 
him, { would next say: 

“Do you know that there is not a God?” 

Of eourse he would answer: “No.” 

Then: “Do you know that God does not answer prayer?” 

Very likely he would answer: “I do not know that He does 

not answer prayer, but I do not believe He does.” 

I would answer: “I know that He does, but that will not 
do you any good, but I will show you how to put this thing 
to the test. The method of modern science is this, that when 
you find a possible clue to knowledge you follow it out to see 
what there is in it. Now here is a possible clue to knowledge. 
Will you adopt the scientific method and follow it out to see 
what there is in it? Will you pray this prayer: ‘O God, 
if there be any God, show me if Jesus Christ is Thy Son or 
not, and if Thou showest me that He is I promise to accept 
Him as my Saviour and confess Him-.as such before the 
world’ ?” 

Here very likely he would try to dodge again, but I would 
hold him right to it. If he would not agree to this I would 
show him he was not an honest seeker after truth. If he 
agreed to do it I would take him another step. I would turn 
him to John 20:31: “But these are written that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that be-_ 
lieving ye might have life through His name,” then say: ; 

“Now here John presents the evidence that Jesus is the Son 
ef God. Will you take the evidence and read it? Will you 
read the Gospel of John?” 

Very likely he would reply: “I have read it already.” 

I would answer: “Yes, but I want you to read it a new 
way, read it slowly and thoughtfully, paying attention to what 
you read. I do not ask you to believe it, I do not ask you to 
try to believe it, I simply ask you to read it honestly, willing 
to believe if it be the truth, and each time before you read 


— . 








bast 
Ae 3 
on 

= 


=i 
os 


to offer this prayer: 
oven truth there is in these verses I am about to 


5 upon.’ ” 


‘O God, if there be any 






what Thou showest me to be true I promise to take my s 


If he refused to do this I would show him he was not an 
honest seeker after the truth, that his unbelief was not his — 
misfortune but his fault. If he agreed to do it I would go over 
the three things he had agreed to do and then say to him: | | 

“When you-get through the Gospel of John will you report ‘ 
to me the result?” phy 

If you do not do this he is very likely to go away and not 
do what he has promised. I have never had one report to 


*~ me that he had actually done the things I asked him to do : 


who did not arrive not only at faith in God but in Jesus Christ — 
as His Son and the Bible as His Word. I have tried it with 
all kinds and conditions of men. 

Sometimes I begin at once with a man to show him that 
there is a God from the evidences of 

DESIGN IN NATURE, eR saa 
I take out my watch‘and say: S 
“Do you think that watch had an intelligent maker?” ee: 
The inquirer replies: “Yes.” 

I ask: “Why do you think it had an intelligent maker? 
Did you see the watch made?” 

“No. ” - 

“Did you ever see a watch made?” 

“No.” : 

“Then why do you think it had an intelligent maker?” 

He will answer: “The watch shows the marks of intelligent 
design, thus proving it had an intelligent maker.” 

Then I say to him: “What about your own eye? Is it not 
as wonderful a piece of mechanism as a watch? Did it not 
then have a Maker?” 

Everywhere in nature we find symmetry, order, beauty, 
law, adaptation of means to end. In the minutest forms of 
being discernible by the most powerful miscroscope we see 



















QUESTIONS ANSWERED 69 


the same symmetry, order, beauty, law, adaptation of means 
to end that are observable in the larger objects with which we 
i familiar. All this goes to prove the existence of an intel- 
ligent Creator and Designer of the physical universe. 
' The modern evolutionary hypothesis, even if true, would not 
_ lake away any of the force of the argument from design in 
mature, for if it were true that the universe as we see it 
aed with all its countless forms of beauty and utility came 
into being by a process of development from some primordial 
protoplasm the question would at once arise: Who put into the 
primordial protoplasm the power of development into the uni- 
verse as we see it today? ; 
From nature, then, we learn the existence of an intelligent, 
powerful and beneficent creator. Of course, nature does not 
teach us some of the profounder truths about God. 
a 


What reasons have we for being sure that there is 
3 personal God? 
} There are many conclusive proofs of the existence of a 
personal God. t 
F First of all, there is the proof from the marks of design in 
nature, as referred to in the previous answer. 
: History also proves the existence of a personal God. While 
" sometimes if we look only at a little patch of history it seems 
as if there was no intelligent and beneficent purpose in it, 
if we look at history in a large way, following its course 


‘through the centuries, we soon discover that back of the con- ee s 
‘flicting passions and ambitions of men there is some intelli- _ 
Font and beneficent and righteous power restraining and con- 


straining man, and making the wrath of men to praise Him. — 
We find in history that there is ‘a power, not ourselves, that 
makes for righteousness.” From history we discover that : 
_there is a moral governor of the universe. Everything in the 

‘universe is attuned to virtue. Everything in nature and 
history conspires to punish sin and reward virtue. This is a 
proof ot the existence of a personal God. 

But the history of Jesus of Nazareth, as recorded in the 










four Gospels, in an especial way proves the e 


- personal God. It is one of the first principles of pects that 


every effect must have an adequate cause, and the only c: 
that is adequate to account for the character, conduct and 


_ works of Jesus of Nazareth is such a God as the Bible reveals, 


The attempt has been made over and over again, and is being 
made still, to discount the miraculous in the history of Jesus” 
of Nazareth—indeed, the attempt is made to eliminate 
miracles altogether from that story, but every attempt o 
that kind has resulted in total failure. The ablest effort 
that kind was that made many years ago by David Straus 

in his Leben Jesu, and for a while it seemed to a great many 
persons as if David Strauss had succeeded. His theories were | 
almost universally accepted in the universities of Europe. But 
his book would not bear careful critical examination, and after 
a while was totally discredited, and today nobody accepts 
Strauss’ interpretation of the life of Jesus. Every other at- 
tempt of the same kind has met with similar failure, and today 
for any candid student of the New Testament this much at 
least is settled, that the story of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded - 
in the four Gospels is at least substantially accurate history. 
(To my mind far more than this is proven, but that is enough 


for our'‘present purpose.) If that be true—and it cannot be 


honestly denied by any one who goes into the evidence— 
then the existence of a personal God is proven. Only a per- 
sonal God will account for the life, character, conduct, miracles, 


‘above all for the resurrection from the dead, of Jesus of 


Nazareth. 

But the supreme proof of the existence of a personal God 
is found in the experience of the individual believer in Jesus 
Christ. Every real Christian knows God in personal experi- 
ence. I know God more surely than I know any human being. | 
I once doubted the existence of a personal God. I did not 
deny His existence, I simply questioned it. I was not an | 
atheist, I was an agnostic. But I determined if there were 
a God I would know it. I became convinced from the study 
of history of the probability of the existence of God, bat to 


~ 


ae ee ore aS 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED aia 5 | 
a“ Af ’ - 
me at that time it was only a Tnenry. But I-made up my 
‘mind to put to the test of rigid, personal experiment the 
_ theory that there was a God, and that the God of the Bible 
_ was the true God. I risked every thing that men hold dear 
_ upon this theory. If there had been no God, or if the God of 
= Bible had not been the true God, I would have lost years 






ago everything that men hold dear. But I risked, and I won, © 
and today I know that there is a God, and that the God of 
- the Bible is the true God, and every other person may also 
know it by doing what I did. There was a time in my life 
, when I was put into a place where I literally lived by prayer _ 
3 to the God of the Bible, in the condition so clearly stated in 
the Bible. Every penny that came to me for the support of 
myself and wife and four children, for rent of home and of 
halls, for missionaries, and for everything else, came in answer 
to prayer. I took the ground that I would not go in debt a 
_ cent for anything, that when I could not pay I would not buy. 
I gave up my salary, ceased taking collections or offerings, 
; told no one but God of any need. This went on for days, and 
. weeks, and months. Every source of former income was cut 
off, and yet the money came, sometimes in very ordinary ways, 
sometimes in apparently most extraordinary ways, but it al- 
Ways came, and when I got through I knew there is a personal 
God and that the God of the Bible is the true God. To me 
God is the one great reality who gives reality to all one 
_ realities. 


What do you mean by saying God is a person? 
Has God a body, or is He merely an invisible spirit? 
When we say that God is a person we do not mean that He 
is possessed of hands, and feet, and legs, and eyes, and nose. 
ome are marks of corporeity, not of personality. When we 
say that God is a person we mean that He is a being who 
: knows, and feels, and wills, and is not merely blind, unintel- 
_ ligent force. Jesus says in John 4:24: “God is (a) spirit, and 
they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in 
truth.” And in Colossians 1:15 we read that God is “invisible.” 

‘or unseeable. 





i 


‘all eternity in an outward, visible form. 



















But while God in His eternal essence is | 
manifest Himself in visible form. For e 

Exodus 24:9, 10 that Moses and Aaron, Nadab and At 
and seventy of the elders saw the God of Israel. It is” 
clear from a study of the different passages in the Old Te 
ment where “the Angel of the Lorp” is mentioned that it 
God Himself who manifested Himself in this being. We ' 
taught in Philippians 2:6 that Christ Jesus existed origin 
(see margin, R. V.) “ in the form of God.” The Greek 
translated “form” in this passage means the outward form, 
that by which one is visible to the eye, and the thought beyon 
a question is that Jesus Christ in His original state was seen 
by the angelic world in a form that was outwardly mai ; 
as divine. We may safely conclude from this and ‘other 
passages of Scripture that while God in His eternal es 

is purely spiritual and invisible, nevertheless He fes 
Himself in the angelic world and has manifested Himself rom 


What do you mean by the Trinity? 

How can God be three persons and at the same 
one? 

God cannot be one and three at the same idee and in the 
Same sense, and the Bible nowhere teaches that God is one — 
and three in the same sense. -- 

But in what sense can He be one and three? ; 

A perfectly satisfactory answer to this question may be im 
possible from the very nature of the case, First, because God 
is spirit, and numbers belong primarily to the physical world. 
Difficulty must inevitably arise when we attempt to describe > 
the facts of spiritual being in the forms of physical expres- 
sion. Second, because God is infinite, and we are finite. Our 
attempts at a philosophical explanation of the tri-unity of God 
is an attempt to put the facts of infinite being into the forms 
of finite thought. Such an attempt at the very best can only 
be partially successful. The doctrine of the Trinity, which 


- hhas been the accepted doctrine of the church through so many 








, tar : lo 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED a 


“ centuries, is the most successful attempt in that direction, 


but it may be questioned whether it is a full and final state 
ment of the truth. 

This much we know, that God is essentially one, and we 
also know that there are three persons possessed of the attri- 
butes of deity—the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, who 
are called God, and who are to be worshipped as God. There | 
is but one God, but this one God makes Himself. known te us 
as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But the Son and the Spirit 
are both subordinate to the Father. God the Father is God 
in the absolute and final sense, God in the source. The Son 
is God in the outflow, but there is all the perfection of the 


- foyntain in the river that flows forth from the fountain, and 


to the Son the Father has imparted all His own perfections, so 
Nhat it may be said without qualification that “he that hath — 
seen the Son hath seen the Father’ (John 14:9). Through 
all eternity the Son has existed and has possessed of all the 
perfections of the Father. While He possesses all the per- 
fections of the Father He is not the Father, but is derived 
from the Fatner, and is eternally subordinate to the Father. 
This seems to be as far as we can go now. How much farther 
we-may go in that glad coming day when we shall no longer 
see through a glass darkly but face to face (1 Corinthians 
13:12), when we shall no longer know in part but shall know 
God as perfectly and as thoroughly as He now knows us, 
none of us can tell. 


If God is a God of mercy and love and the director 
of the universe, why does He send earthquakes, tidal 
waves and other phenomena when thousands of lives 
are lost almost instantly? 

Because He sees fit to do so. 

If God saw fit He would have a perfect right to plunge 
the whole earth beneath a flood and leave us all to perish 
instantly. All men have sinned. All men deserve the wrath 
of God, but God loves even a sinful and apostate race, and 
le has provided a way of pardon for al! who will accept it, 










and not only a way of pardon but a way whet 
become sons of God and heirs of God and joint eirs: 
Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17). Any one 
accepts this way of pardon, if he is swept away by an earth- 
quake, tidal wave or other disaster, loses nothing. He departs 
to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:23). If 
any one does not accept this way of pardon he is grossly 
wicked and ungrateful, and his being swept away by an earth- 
quake, tidal wave or other phenomenon is far less than he 
deserves and far less than he will receive in the judgment that 
awaits him in the world to come, not merely for his sins but 
for the black ingratitude of his trampling under foot the 
mercy of God so marvelously manifested, ; 

In our day men have largely forgotten that God is God, and 
they think that He is under obligation to explain His dealings 
to us. 

God’s ways are not our ways and God’s theta are not our 
thoughts, but as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are 
His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our 
thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). His judgments are unanswerable and — 
His ways past finding out (Romans 11:33). But when we se 
reach the other side and no longer “see through a glass 
darkly” but face to face, then we shall understand that the 
providences of God that were most difficult for us to com- 
prehend in the life that now is were full of mercy and kind- 
ness to man. What we all need to learn now is that God 
in His infinite wisdom may have a thousand good reasons 
for doing a thing when we in our finite ignorance cannot see 
even one. 

If God exercises general government and control 
over the entire universe how do you explain the appar- 
ant dominance of sin? 

It is only on this earth that sin is apparently dominant 
and this earth is a very small portion of the universe. 

Furthermore, God’s plans are eternal and take ages for their. 


full working out. The apparent dominance of siz is only 


a ae 77. 4 ee ~F a a rr. 
leh Brion on Beate Cems cea ‘ 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED sat. | 


eemporary. Through its permission at the present time God 
is working out His cwn plans of good. When these plans 
are wrought out we will see how all the time back of man’s 
failures, rebellions and sin was the controlling power of God, 
Indeed, we can see it in large measure even at the present 
time. = 


GOOD WORKS. 


May I not merit heaven by my good works? 

If your works are absolutely perfect, if you should never 
break the law of God at any point from the hour of birth 
until death, if you do all that God requires of you and all 
that pleases Him, you would merit heaven by your good 
works. 

But this is something that no man but Jesus Christ ever has 
done. “There is no difference: for all have sinned and come 
short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22, 23). The moment 
that any man breaks the law of God at any point he can no 
longer merit heaven by his good works. The law demands 
perfect obedience (Galatians 3:10). Nothing but perfect 
obedience to the law of God will secure life or heaven. 
There is, therefore, no hope on the ground of our own works. 

The moment a man has sinned at any point his only hope 
then is that he be justified freely through the grace of God 
in Jesus Christ. But justification by free grace is offered 
to all who will accept Jesus Christ. All who believe are justi- 
fied freely (that is, as a free gift) through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). God set Him forth © 
to be the propitiation through faith by His blood (Romans 
$:25, R. V.). Study the whole passage Romans 3:9 to 4:8, 
and you will see how impossible it is that any man can merit 
heaven by his good works, and what God’s method of justi- 
fication is. 


/ 


“ef 
aa 


ee 


. THE HEATHEN. 


~ How is God going to judge the healide: ATMA 
_Can the heathen be saved by following the best light 
they have? 
God will judge the heathen in righteousness, according to the 
light they have had. Those who have sinned without know- 
ing the law revealed to Moses will also perish without the 
law, and as many as have sinned under the law shall be 
judged by the law (Romans 2:12). 
The heathen are not without light. The fact that they 
‘ 
‘4 







do by nature the things required in the law shows that they 
have a law, though not the law revealed to Moses (Romans 
2:14). If any heathen should live perfectly up to the light 3 
he has he would doubtless be saved by doing so, but no 
heathen has ever done this. Romans 2:12-16 is often taken 
as teaching that the heathen are to be saved by the light 
of nature, but any one who will read the passage carefully 
in its connection will see that Paul’s whole purpose is not — 
to show how the heathen are saved by keeping the law writ- — 
ten in their hearts but to show that all are under condem- — 
nation—the Jew because he has not lived up to the law given A 
by revelation, and the Gentile because he has not lived up 3 
to the law written in his heart. The conclusion of the matter — 
is given in Romans 3:22, 23, R. V.: “For there is no distinc- — 
tion; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” — 
In the verses that follow the only way of salvation is pointed — 
out, namely, free justification by God’s grace through the “' 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus on the ground of His — 
propitiatory death, the value of which each one appropriates — 
to himself by faith in Him. No one will be saved except — 
through personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as his personal — 
Saviour. There is not a line of Scripture that holds out a 
ray of hope to any one who dies without accepting Jesus q 
_ Christ. ~ ; 
There are those who hold that those who die without hear- — 
ing of Jesus Christ in this world will have an opportunity of : 
hearing of Him and accepting Him or rejecting Him in some 4 
4 


> 
~ 


BS, ry 


a eh oe ee ok ee ee Pad “. * < _, 
= si iit eas > a ar a 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 7 






* future state, but the Bible does not say so, and this is pure— 
- gpeculation without a word of Scripture to support it. 
‘There are also those who hold that those heathen who would 

> have accepted Christ if He had been presented to them will ~ 
be treated as if He had been presented to them and they — 
had accepted Him, but this is all pure speculation. 

All the Bible teaches is that no one can be saved without 
personal acceptance of Christ, and the part of wisdom on 
our part is to do everything in our power to see the heathen 
have the opportunity of accepting Christ in the life that 
now is, for we have not one word of Scripture to support us 
in the hope that if we neglect our duty here the heathen will 
have an opportunity to accept Christ in some future age or 
state. 


HEAVEN. 


Is heaven a place or a state of the soul? 

Jesus Christ plainly declares that heaven is a place. In 
John 14:2 He says: ‘‘I go to prepare a place for you,’’ and to 
make it even more plain He adds~in the next verse that when . 
the place is prepared He will come again and receive us unto 
Himself, that where He is there we may be also. 

Furthermore, we are distinctly told that when Jesus Himself _ 
left this earth He went into heaven, from whence He had come 
(John 13:3; Acts 1:9, 10; Ephesians 1:20, 21; and many 

_ _ other places). 

i The blessedness of heaven will not all be because of the 
character of the place. It will be still more because of the 
state of mind in which those who inhabit heaven will be. 
Nevertheless, heaven is a place, a place more beautiful than — 
any of us can conceive. All earthly comparisons necessarily 
fail. In our present state every sense and faculty of percep- 
tion is blunted by sin and by the disease that results from 
sin. In our redeemed bodies every sense and faculty will 
receive enlargement and exist in perfection. There may be 
new senses, but what they may be we cannot of course now 
imagine. The fairest sights that we have ever beheld on 





Root eee. co ne SAT eS 


73 PRACTICAL AND PERPL 


earth are nothing in beauty “ what will aueak us in t 
“city that hath foundations.” Heaven will be free from ever 
thing that curses or mars our lives here. There will be no 
servile grinding toil, no sickness or pain (Revelation 21:4), 
no death, no funerals and no separations. Above all, there will 
be no sin. It will be a place of universal and perfect knowledge 
(1 Corinthians 13:12), of universal and perfect love (1 John 
8:2; 4:8), of perpetual praise (Revelation 7:9-12). It will be 
a land of melody and song. : 


What must one do to get to heaven? 

There is just one thing that any one needs to do to get to 
heaven, that is, to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, 
surrender to Him as His Lord and Master, and openly confess 
Him as such before the world. Jesus Christ says: “I am 

the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the 

Father but by Me” (John 14:6). Again He says: “I am the 
door. By Me if any man enter in he shall be saved” (John 
10:9). Any one who receives Jesus becomes at once a child 
of God, an heir of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ (John 
1:12; Romans 8:16, 17). 

Any one can know whether he is already on the way to 
heaven or not by simply asking himself the questions: _ 

“Have I received Jesus Christ? Have I taken Him as my 


_ §$in-bearer, the One who bore my sins in His own body on 


the cross? (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 3:13.) Am I 
trusting God to forgive my sins because Jesus Christ bore 
them for me? Have I taken Jesus Christ as my Lord and 
Master? Have I surrendered my thought to Him to teach and 
my life to Him to guide in everything? Am I confessing Him 
as my Saviour and my Lord before the world as I have oppor- 
tunity?” ; 
if any one can answer yes to these simple questions he 
may know he is on the way to heaven. Of course, if one has 
really received Jesus as his Lord and Master he will prove it 
by studying His Word day by day to know His will. and 
“by doing His will as he-finds it revealed in the Bible. 








tn aye c" MAY, - = 
re oa \ 
eee « 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 19 


Is the Bible an all-sufficient guide to heaven? 

It is. It tells each one of us what sort of a place heaven 
ts and just how to get there. There is not a thing a man 
needs to know about the road to heaven that is not plainly 
stated in the Bible. It is the only book in the world 
that reveals Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is Himself the 
way to heaven (John 14:6). 


Shall we recognize our loved ones in heaven? 
Most assuredly we shall. Paul in writing to the believers 
of Thessalonica tells them not to sorrow over their loved 


_ones, from whom they have been separated for a time, as 


others whc have no hope sorrow over them, for (he goes on 
to say) Jesus Himself is coming back again, and our loved 
ones who have fallen asleep in Jesus will be first raised, and 
then we who are alive will be transformed and caught up 
together with them to meet the Lord in the air. The whole 
basis of this exhortation is that when we are caught up 
together with our loved ones we shall have them again. Fur- 
thermore, Moses and Elijah appeared to the three disciples — 
who were with Christ in the Mount of Transfiguration, and 
were recognized by them (Matthew 17:3 and following verses). 
If we shall recognize those whom we have never known in 
the flesh, how much more shall we recognize our loved ones! 


Can a person be happy in heaven if he knows his 
loved ones are in hell? 

Yes, most assuredly, if he is a real Christian. A real Chris- 
tian’s supreme joy is in Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:37). The 
love that he bears even to the dearest of his earthly loved 
ones is nothing to that he bears to Jesus Christ, and Jesus 
Christ is in heaven. He will satisfy every longing of the 
heart that really knows Him. 

Furthermore, if any of our loved ones are in hell they will 
be there simply because they persistently rejected and trampled 
under foot that One who is the supreme object of our love. 
They will be with the Devil and his angels because they 





“the justice of it and the necessity of it. Many will not allow : 
_ themselves to believe in eternal punishment because they have 
_ impenitent friends and loved ones, but it is better far to 
_ recognize the facts, no matter how unwelcome they may be, — 
- and try to save our loved ones from the doom to which they __ 
are certainly hurrying on, than it is to quarrel with facts 
and seek to remove them by shutting our eyes to them. If 
. we love Jesus Christ supremely, love Him as we would love - 
Him, and realize His glory and His claims upon men as we | 
_ Should realize them, we will say, if the dearest friend we have —_— 
. on earth persists in trampling Christ under foot, he ought to : 
be tormented forever. If after men have sinned and merited 
God’s awful wrath God still offers them merey and makes : 
_ the tremendous sacrifice of His Son to save them—if after v 
all this they still despise that mercy, trample God’s Son under F 
foot, and are consigned to everlasting torment, any one who — 
gees as he ought to see will say: 





“Amen; true and righteous are Thy- judgments, O Lora!” 7 
‘HELL. = 
Is hell a place or state of the soul? 


th eye Hell, meaning by this name the final abode of Satan and 
be she impenitent, is plainly declared in the Bible to be a place 
prepared for the Devil and his angels. The arguments and 
many Scripture passages are to be found in the answers given 
under “The Devil” and “Eternal Punishment.” See also 


“Heaven.” 


Please explain Psalm 139:8: ‘‘If I ascend up into — 
heaven Thou are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, 
Thou art there!’ I cannot conceive of God’s presence 
in hell. ‘ 

_ The word rendered “hell” in this passage does not mean 
hell in the sense of the abode.of the lost. It means the place 
where all the dead were before our Lord’s ascension. (It is 






ee ee pt hes Dg ng ey wie ‘ Been tiny 


Pea so od = 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED << ae 


rendered in the Revised Version—“Sheol. ” This is aot a trans: 
lation; it is the Hebrew word used.) Both the righteous and 

unrighteous dead went to Sheol, the righteous to that portion 

of Sheol known as paradise, and the unrighteous to the place 

of suffering. But if God is everywhere, He must in some 

sense be present even in hell, but He certainly does not mani- 

fest His presence there as He does in heaven, or even as He 

does on earth. 


THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


Does the Holy Spirit live in and remain with the 
believer, or come and go? 
‘I know of no place where it is recorded that He comes and 
goes from the believer. It is true the Spirit of the Lord 
departed from king Saul, but we have no reason for believing 
that he was a true believer, a regenerate man. The Holy 
Spirit dwells in the believer according to the teaching of Jesus 
Christ (John 14:17). The believer may grieve Him (Eph- 
esians 4:30), but it does not say that the believer “grieves 
Him away,” as it is sometimes quoted. Indeed, it distinctly 
says that even though we grieve Him we are “sealed unto the 
day of redemption.” The believer through sin or worldliness 
may lose the consciousness of the indwelling presence of the 
Spirit of God, but losing the consciousness of His presence 
and power is one thing, actually losing His presence is another. 
The Holy Spirit may withdraw into the innermost sanctuary — 
of the believer’s spirit, back of conscious possession, but He — 
is still there. ats 

There is, however, a work of the Holy Spirit upon a person — 
short of regeneration, as in conviction, and in such a case 
He may come and go. 5, 


Please tell something about waiting on God for power 
for service. 

Our Lord Jesus distinctly teaches in Acts 1:8 that there ts 
& definite enduement of power from the Holy Spirit for those 


| 


yt 


as the only ground of our acceptance before God. Second, — 
that we put out of our lives every known sin. Third, that ~ 


» 


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other believers proves the same. This power is r scelt 
the following conditions: : 


First, that we rest absolutely on the finished work of Christ 


we surrender absolutely to God for Him to use us as He 
will. Fourth, that we openly confess our acceptance of Jesus 
Christ as our Saviour and Lord before the world. Fifth, that 
we really desire this anointing. Sixth, that we definitely 


ask for it. Seventh, that we take by faith what we ask 


for (Mark 11:24; 1 John 5:14, 15). 

There need be no long time of waiting. God is ready te 
give the Holy Spirit at once (Luke 11:13). Of course, waiting 
on God is something that every believer should practice, and 
doubtless God gives His Spirit when persons individually or 
together spend a long time in prayer before Him, thus 
recognizing and acknowledging their dependence upon Him, 
but the teaching that a man may have to wait a month or 


six months for “his Pentecost” is wholly without warrant in ~ 


the Bible. 


IMMORTALITY. 


How do you prove the immortality of the soul? 
_ In the Bible immortality as applied to man is used ef the 
body and not of the soul, but I suppose the question means: 
How do you prove that there is a future existence after death? 

We prove it from the Bible. In another book I haye 
proven that the Bible is the Word of God (The Bible and Its 
Christ), and that all its teachings are absolutely reliable; 
and the Bible teaches beyond a question that all men shall 
be raised from the dead, the righteous unto the resurrection 
of life and those that have done evil unto the resurrection 
of judgment (John 8:28, 29). It furthermore teaches what the 
exact state of those who accept Christ and of those who reject 
Christ will be in the future eternal existence. Furthermore, 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the best preven 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 83 


ra ae ah 9 ot ie Ae eet el ane 





facts of history, and proves to a demonstration that death does 
not end all. : 
There are arguments for immortality of a scientific and 
philosophical character, but if we leave out those built upon 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ all that these arguments prove 
is the probability of life after death, the probability of a 
future existence; but when we take the Bible in, and above 
all the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our belief in a future 
existence is no longer based upon a mere probability, it is 
removed from the domain of the merely probable into the 
domain of the absolutely certain and proven. 


Do the Scriptures teach conditional immortality? 

‘By the doctrine of conditional immortality is meant the 
doctrine that man is naturally mortal and only gains im- 
mortality in Christ. 

There is an element of truth in the doctrine, namely, that 
man is naturally mortal. As man could begin to be, man 
could of course cease to be. But it is the plain teaching of 
Scripture that all the sons of Adam get endless existence 
*n Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:22 we are told that “as in 
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 
If we deal fairly with these words, one “ail” is as 
comprehensive as ~the Other. Every one that loses 
existence in Adam, who returns to the dust (Genesis 3:19; 
5:5), is raised from the dust in Christ. The whole race gets 
back in Christ what it lost in Adam. But whether this exist- 
ence, this resurrection life, that we get in Christ, shall be a 


resurrection unto life or a resurrection unto judgment and — 


everlasting shame and contempt (John 5:28, 29; Daniel 12:2) 
depends entirely upon what we do with the Christ in whom 
we get it. Every man’s endless existence becomes an exist- 
ence in unspeakable blessedness if he accepts Christ, but 
that existence becomes an existence in unspeakable misery 
lf he rejects Christ. It is the second death (Revelation 21:8), 
a part with the Devil and his angels in the lake of fire pre 
pared for them (Matthew 25:41, 46), a portion in the lake 
af fire where there is no rest dav nor night for ever and ever 
(Kevelation 20:10). 


> 





./ 


INFANTS. 






Are those who die in infancy lost forever? 
There is not a line of Scripture to indicate that they are. = 


to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom or heaven” 
(Matthew 19:14, R. V.). It is true that infants are born 
into this world members of a fallen race under condemnation 
of God, that Adam’s sin is imputed to all his descendants, but 
the sins of the whole race were atoned for by the death of 


Jesus says: “Suffer the little children, and forbia chem not 


‘> 


Jesus Christ on the cross (1 Timothy 2:6; John 1:29; 1 John 


2:2). This includes the children. 
When a child reaches the age of accountability and sins 
himself there must needs be a definite personal acceptance of 


Christ before he can be saved, but of course this does not — 


apply to those who die in infancy. To them Christ’s one act 
of righteousness (His atoning death on the cross) brings the 
free gift of justification of life (Romans 5:18, R. V.; 1 Corin- 


thians 15:22). The time will come when these children will — 
see Christ, and believe in Him, and thus be saved in the fullest — 


sense. But they will never perish for Adam’s sin. Jesus Christ — 


bore the penalty of Adam’s sin for them. No one is lost : 


in Scripture for the doctrine of the damnation of unbaptized 


infants. 


Is there any Scripture that goes to show that the 
children of unbelieving parents will be saved if they die 
in infancy? If so, what does the latter part of 1 Cor- 


merely because of Adam’s sin. There is absolutely no ground 


inthians 7:14 mean: ‘‘The unbelieving husband is 


sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanc- 
tified by the husband, else were your children unclean; 
but now are they holy’’? ; 

The latter part of this verse undoubtedly teaches that the 
children of believing parents stand in a different relation to 
God from the children of unbelieving parents, but there is 
no teaching in the Bible anywhere that any infant is lost, az 
explained in the preceding answer- 


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_ Where do those who die in their infancy go in the 
other world? 
_ The Bible does not tell specifically. It does, however, 
say that “of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). 
There is absolutely no ground in Scripture for the doctrine 
that while infants do not go to the place of torment they go 
to a place where there is not that fulness of blessedness which 
those who live to maturity and accept Jesus Christ enter. 
We are not wise to go beyond what is written and.make 
theories of our own regarding their future destiny, but cer- 
tainly there is not the slightest ground for any anxiety regard- 
ing them. 


7 
: 


INSURANCE. 


_ ome people hold that Christians should not insure 
their lives, property, etc., because by so doing they dis- 
trust God and His providential care. What does the 
Bible teach as to this? 

The Bible teaches that there is no conflict between trusting 
God and an intelligent and wise provision for the necessities 
of the future, as (for instance) in Proverbs 6:6-8: “Go to the 
ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; which, 
having no guide, overseer or ruler, provideth her meat in the 
“summer and gathereth her food in the harvest.” When Paul 
had God’s own assurance that both he and all those who 

were with him on the ship should be saved, and fully believed 
‘God that it should come out even as it had been told him, i 

nevertheless when the sailors tried to flee out of the ship 
and thus imperil the vessel Paul saw to it that they were 
‘not allowed to escape (Acts 27:23-25, 30-32). This was notan 
act of unbelief on Paul’s part. It was simply co-operating with 
God in the fulfilment of God’s promise. 

Now as to whether it is an intelligent and wise provision for 
the future to insure one’s life or to insure one’s property, is 
other question which each one must decide prayerfully for 
himself. God promises to each one of us wisdom in the 


~ 









~ 


86 PRACTICAL AND F 





















settling of such questions if we look to Him for it a ; 
the conditions of answered prayer (James 5:1-7). 
if it should prove to be an unwise expenditure of money ot 
insure one’s life or property, that would not make it an act 
of distrust in God. 


THE JEWS. 


Do you believe in the literal restoration of the Jews 
to Palestine? ¥ 

I do. There are many prophecies in the Old Testament 
regarding the restoration of the Jews which were not fulfilled — 
in their restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah, and never 
have been fulfilled yet. But they will be fulfilled to the very 
letter. 


Is there any difference today in God’s sight between 
Jews and Gentiles? 

Most assuredly there is. In 1 Corinthians 10:32 the apostle 
Paul divides men into three classes—the Jews, the Gentiles, 
and the church of God. God has His plans today for the Jew, 
His plans for the Gentile, and His plans for the church. 

In the church there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 
8:28). When one accepts Jesus Christ as his Saviour, sur- 
Tenders to Him as his Lord and Master, and openly confesses 
Him as such before the world, he becomes part of the body 
of Christ, that is, a part of the church. The relation of the 
Jewish Christian to Christ is precisely the same as that of 
the Gentile Christian. The promises that belong to one belong 
to the other, the Scriptures that belong to one belong te the 
other. 

But outside of the church there is Jew and Gentile, and 
God’s plans are not precisely the same for both. The present 
dispensation is pre-eminently a Gentile dispensation. The 
Jew for the time being has been set aside, but his day is 
coming (Romans 11:25, 26, 30,31; and many other passages). 
" The method of dividing the Word that some have, applying 





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ovine eee ae ee ee 
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baie QUESTIONS ANSWERED 8T 
Some of the promises to J ewish Christians and others to Gentile 
Christians, is not warranted by the Word. What belongs to 
any Christian belongs to all Christians, both Jewish and. Gen- 


tile. 


JUDGMENT. 


Do the Scriptures teach that there will be one 
general or several judgments? = 

The Scriptures plainly teach that there will be several 
judgments. There will be, first of all, the judgment of the 
believer when he is caught up to meet the Lord in the air, 
a judgment not regarding his salvation—for that is settled 
the moment he accepts Christ (John 5:24, R. V.)—but’a 
judgment regarding his reward (1 Corinthians 3:13-15; 2 


Timothy 4:8). Then there will be the judgment of the nations 
living on this earth at the time that the Lord comes with 


His saints to it, described in Matthew 25: 31-46. But those 
who have not a part in the first resurrection will not be 
raised for their judgment for a thousand years (Revelation 
20:4, 5). At the end of the thousand years, the millennium, 
the rest of the dead will be raised and appear before God at 
the judgment of the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15). 


Does God temper the judgment of those who sin 
ignorantly? 

Certainly God does not deal with those who sin ignorantly 
as He does with those who sin of deliberate and wilful choice 


. (see 1 Timothy 1:13; compare Hebrews 10:26). But there is 


not a man on this earth who has not sinned knowingly 
(Romans 3:23), and therefore, there is no hope for any man 
outside the atoning work of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24-26). 
Every one who believes on Jesus Christ receives eternal life, 
and no one who rejects Him shall see life, but shall perish 
forever (John 3:36; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). 






















Ue: 

(aa 

e- z LAW. : ; , i . f 
__. Ought Christians to keep the law of . 
Isa Christian under law? 


xe No. We are taught in Galatians 5:18: “If ye be led by t 
3 Spirit ye are mot under the law.” 
But this does not mean for a moment that a Christian is ton 
lead a lawless life. While we are not under the law of 
Moses we are under law to Christ (Romans 7:4), that is, we 
are under obligation to do in all things the things that-please 
our new husband, Christ. Those who are led by the Spirit, 
who are the only ones who are not under law, will not do 
things that are forbidden by the Spirit in the Word of God. 
There are many in our day who have gone into the most } 
foolish extravagances regarding not being under the law. 
They say that they are led by the Spirit and therefore are 
not under any obligation to obey the Word, and they. do-things 
which they say the Spirit leads them to do which are directly 
contrary to the will of God as revealed in the Bible. Now — 
the Bible is the Holy Spirit’s book, and the Holy Spirit cer. 
tainly does not lead one to do things that are contrary to the — 
_ Bible, and any spirit that leads men to do things that are ~ 
-- contrary to the teachings of the Bible is certainly not the — 
_ Holy Spirit. There are some Christians, for instance, who ce 
scoff at all obligation to keep the Lord’s Day differently from — ‘ 
other days, and ridicule as being under the law those who 
do set this day apart. These people are unscriptural, 
are doing much harm. While they claim to be in subjection 
to the Holy Spirit they are really in subjection only to their 
own headstrong self-will and spiritual pride, : 


THE LORD’S TABLE. Lagi 
Ought we to invite to the Lord’s table all who thetivens A 
themselves to be Christians whether or not ye lave 


previously been received into the membership of the 
church? ac 


~ Jesus Christ commands all believers: “This do in rem VD: 


bod 





Bee Sti PNA 





prance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24); therefore all believers 


should have the privilege of doing this, whether or not they — 


have previously been received into the membership of the 
church. But the importance and necessity of church mem- 
bership should be urged upon all believers. 


LOVE FOR SOULS. 


How may I realize a love for souls? 

First, by giving your whole self up, all your thoughts, feel- 

_ ings, ambitions, purposes, to the control of the Holy Spirit. 

-The Holy Spirit loves souls, and if you give yourself up to 
His control He will impart a love for souls to you. The very 
first part of the description of the fruit of the Spirit is love 
(Galatians 5:22). 

Second, by dwelling upon the actual condition of men ‘out: 
side of Christ, as revealed in the Word of God, and studying 
what the Word of God says about their ultimate destiny. If 
you reflect upon the hell that awaits lost souls you will soon 
_ have (if you are a Christian at all) a passion for their sal- 
vation. 

Third, by observing Jesus Christ and oe upon His 
conduct toward the lost. 


MAN IN GOD’S IMAGE, 


‘What does Genesis 1:27 mean when it says: ‘‘God 


created man in His own image’’? 4 


We are told in Colossians 3:10 that the regenerated man is 


“renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created 
him.” In Ephesians 4:23, 24 we are told that it is “in 
righteousness and true holiness” that he is created in the 
image of God. It is evident then that the words “image” and 
“likeness” in Genesis 1:26, 27 do not refer to visible or bodily 
likeness but to intellectual and moral likeness in “knowledge,” 
_“righteousness” and “holiness of truth.’ However, we are 
taught in Philippians 2:6 (see R. V. margin) that Christ 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 89. 


ec 
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is 
Ph 
a 


moe together in the most complete and intimate sense. By “un. 


a ——-— 












Jesus existed originally “in the form of Goa,” that fs, 
_ visible form that was divine, and in our ultimate state 
blessedness we shall be like Christ in our bodily appearance j 
as well as intellectually and morally (1 John 3:2; Matthew 
17:23. 13:43). 


MARRIAGE, 


Should a Christian ever marry an unbeliever? 

Most assuredly not. To do so is to disobey the plainest 
directions of God’s Word. God says in 2 Corinthians 6:14: 
“Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” When 
a woman marries a man, or a man a woman, they are yoked 2 


believers” in this passage God evidently does not mean merely 
infidels, but all who have not definitely received Jesus Christ 
and surrendered their lives to Him. { 
More promising lives are shipwrecked by a marriage con- 
trary to the Word of God than in almost any other way. Some 
women marry men for the purpose of converting them. Such 
marriages result in inevitable and unutterable misery. You 
cannot hope to convert another by disobeying God yourself. 


Do you believe in mixed marriages? 

I suppose you mean by “mixed marriages” the marriage of a 
converted person to an unconverted person. If that is what 
you mean, the Bible explicitly forbids such marriages in 2 
Corinthians 6:14, quoted in answer to the previous question, 
Any converted man or any converted woman who marries an . 
- unconverted man or an unconverted woman disobeys the plain — | 
commandment of God’s Word. Doubtless many do this through | 
ignorance, but that does not make it right. _ | 

If you mean the marriage of a white person to a negro, . 
or the intermarriage of persons of nationalities widely separa- ) 
ted from one another, as (for example) the marriage of a _ 
Chinaman to an American or English woman, I certainly do 
Rot believe in it. It might be difficult to find Scripture that 


i Pn: > 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 91 





specifically forbids it, but such a marriage will certainly bring 
great misery to the resultant offspring, under the present 
conditions of human society. It brings them into a position 
almost intolerable, and is therefore a plain violation of our 


Lord’s words: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to | 


you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). Where a man 

_and woman are separated by wide lines of national demarca- 
tion their marriage involves them in difficulties that will 
hinder, if not absolutely prevent, the largest usefulness for 
Christ. 

If the question refers to marriages between Catholics and 
Protestants, such a marriage is quite sure to be unfortunate. 
While Roman Catholics and Protestants may both be real be- 
lievers in the Lord Jesus Christ the differences between them 
are so radical that a marriage between the two cannot but 
result in friction and misunderstanding. Especially will this 
be true when children are born into the family, and the 
question of rearing the children comes up. If the two parties 
in question cannot come to see eye to eye on the fundamental 
questicns of difference between Catholics and Protestants be 
fore their marriage, then they had better not marry. 


Is the marriage of cousins sanctioned in the Bible? 

There is no explicit commandment in the Bible that cousins 
should not marry, but it is a well known fact that the mar- 
Tiage of near relatives is fraught with great physical ¢angers. 
If there is any hereditary taintin the family it will be accentu- 


ated in the children of near relatives. For example, in some 


parts of Nova Scotia, and other countries where there has 
been constant intermarriage of relatives, many of the children 
are idiotic and degenerate in other ways. Certainly the Bible 


does not sanction two persons entering into a marriage, the 


issue of which is fraught with so great possible peril. 


THE USE OF MEDICINE. 


Does James 5:14, 15 (‘‘Is any sick among you? het 
him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray 












over him, anointing him with oil in the 

_ Lord; and the prayer of faith shall heal the 
the Lord shall raise him up’’) give ground for be 

that medical aid should have no place in the life of — 

faith, or does the Lord expect us to use the means at @ 

hand, invoking His blessing upon such means? ~ ee 

This passage does not give ground for believing that medical: 

aid should never have any place in the life of faith. It tells — 

us what we should do when we are sick, but it says nothing — cs 

either for or against medicine. . Doubtless it is oftentimes 

the purpose of God to heal without/any means except those 

mentioned in this passage, but it is also plainly taught in the 

Word of God that the use of means may be proper, as” in” 

1 Timothy 5:23—“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine 


for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” <3 
THE MILLENNIUM. ee. 
_ What is the millennium? J a 


“Millennium” means 1,000 years, and the millennium is the 
, thousand years’ reign of Christ on earth after His second > ‘s 
4 coming (Revelation 20:4). There are many prophecies about 
Christ as an earthly king which are not yet fulfilled but which 
will be fulfilled in His millennial reign on earth. He = 
- occupy the throne of David (Jeremiah 23:5, 6; Psalm 2:6; — 
Zechariah 14:9). This does not mean that He shall all the 
time sit on a throne in Jerusalem. The king of nw nn : 
occupies the throne of England, but he very seldom literally — 
sits upon that throne. It may be that much of the time 
Christ will be with His bride in the New Jerusalem, and not a 
in the old literal Serusalem here on earth, but He will reign — 
as king on earth for 1,000 years. “a 


Will the millennium be a period of soul-saving — 
revival? <4 
There seems to be reason to suppose that in connection with 
the return of our Lord the events that accompany it will 





2 nyeibl geen tab Fea m= : ok 


QUESTIONS ANSWEREP 93 








recult in bringing many persons to their senses and to an ae 
- ceptance of Jesus Christ. Certainly this is true of israel. 

There is to be a national repentance, a national turn- — 
ing to Christ. Jesus, coming as a deliverer, shall turn. 
away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26). God will pour _ 
out upon them the Spirit of grace and of supplications. They 
shall look upon the One whom they have pierced, and shall 
mourn over their sin, and a fountain shall be opened to them 
for sin and for uncleanness, and there shall be a national 
turning to Jesus Christ (Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1). 

In connection with the conversion of Israel] there will also 
be a great turning of the Gentiles to Christ (Romans 11:12). 


' MIRACLES. 


How are miracles possible if the laws of nature are 
fixed? : 

God is the author of the laws of nature. The laws of 
nature indicate God’s customary ways of working. To what 
-extent they are fixed, it is impossible to say. But even if 
they were absolutely fixed, that would not make miracles 
impossible. One of the most universally recognized laws of 
nature is the law of gravitation. According to the law of gravi- 
tation a stone lying on the surface of the earth will be drawn 
toward the center of the earth, but it is quite possible for 4 
man to come along and if he wills to do so to lift that stone 
away from the earth. The law of gravitation is not violated 
in the least, but a higher law, the law of the human will, steps. 
in and produces an effect just the opposite of what the law of 
gravitation of itself would have produced. If a human being 
can bring things to pass that the fixed law of nature would — 
not have brought to pass left to itself, how much mere can - 
a mighty God who is the creator of all things! " 

All this argument about miracles being impossible because 
of the fixed laws of nature appears wise to the shallow thinker, 
but when we look right at it it is found to-be supremely 
absurd. The real question is not whether miracles are possible, 


a but rather if they have occurred and are they) wel 
ae Miracles are certainly well attested. The supreme mirac 
_ all is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. A lead 
ing agnostic has said: 
“We need not discuss the other miracles. The whole ques: : 
tion is: Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead? If He did it 
is easy enough to believe the other miracles. If He did not 
the miraculous must go.” nth 
He has well stated the case, If Jesus Christ did rise from } 
the dead then the miraculous is proven. The argument for 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is simply over- __ 
_ whelming. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 
- is one of the best proven facts of history, so it is plain that — 
miracles are not only possible but historically certain. 





















& 
* A 

__ _Has the age of miracles passed away? os 
Why doesn’t God work miracles today as in Christ’ s a; 
time? ; 
. There is no conclusive Bible proof that God does not work 
miracles today, neither is there any reason. in history or 
experience. That physical miracles should not be so frequent 
and abundant as they were when Jesus Christ Himself was 
upon the earth is only to be expected, for then He was God 
ios manifest in the flesh, but now He is with us in the spirit, 
and the miracles that we should expect to see more abundantly __ 
in the present time are in the spiritual realm. Regeneration 
is a miracle. The raising of a spirit dead in trespasses and 
sins to life in Jesus Christ is a more wonderful miracle than 
the resurrection of the body. This miracle is being constantly . 
wrought. In fact, those who believe in Jesus Christ today 4 
are doing greater things in the spiritual realm than Jesus “i , 
Christ accomplished while He was here upon earth. This is 
only the fulfilment of Christ’s own word (John 14:12). 
We may expect that physical miracles will be mere com- p 

mon again when Christ_returns the second time, as indicated — 

in many passages in the Bible. 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED» 95 


ORIGINAL SIN. 
What is original sin, and how is it just to hold us 


guilty of it? 

' The phrase “original sin” is used nowadays in a great 
variety of senses, and generally inaccurately. Strictly speak- 
ing, original sin was the sin in which all other sins originated, 
that is, the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

It is just to hold us guilty for this sin—first, because we were 
all in Adam when he committed the sin; and second, because 
Adam who was the whole race as it existed at that time sinned 
as our representative, and we sinned in him (Romans 5:12, 
R. V.). But when Jesus came as the second Adam He also 
“was our representative, the representative of the whole race, 
the Son of man, and when He perfectly kept the law of God 
He kept it as our representative and by His atoning death 
cleared us from the guilt of the sin committed in Adam 
(Romans 5:15, 16, 18). No one is lost because of Adam’s sin, 
If any one is lost it will simply be because he does not accept 
the second Adam. 

God’s plan of holding us guilty because of Adam’s sin is 
much more merciful than if each of us had had to stand for 
himself. If each of us had stood for himself we would all 
have done just what Adam did, we would have sinned, and 
there would have been no hope; but because the first Adam 
stood as our representative the second Adam could also stand 
as our representative, and He did for us what not one of us 
would have done for ourselves—He perfectly kept the law of 
God, and having perfectly kept it died for us who had broken 
it, not only broken it in Adam’s sin but broken it in our own 
personal transgression. There is a depth of mercy as well as 
wisdom in God’s plan‘that will fill us with wonderment and 
praise throughout all eternity! 


PHYSICAL RESISTANCE. 


Should a Christian ever make physical resistance 
when attacked? 


I find no warrant in Scripture for his doing so, but a Chris- 


ae 


3 


te te 
7 
He 


Sun 
; ’ 


~ conclusive proof that the Bible is the inerrant Word of wale 
_ and whatever it says is true I know to be true. The 


- united to Him by a living faith and obedient love: “Whatsoever — 


. 
: 


a 


f by evil men. 
PRAYER. 


I could multiply instances of this sort. , 






















tian is warranted in defending others when ‘they | 


How do you know God answers prayer? a 
I know it first of all because the Bible says so, and I have 


abounds in statements that God answers prayer. For 
ample, Jesus says in Matthew 7:11: “If ye being evil know 
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much mo re 
shall your Father which is in heaven give good thingsto them _ 
that ask Him!” And He says again to His disciples who were 


ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father a_i 
be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any ae in My name — 
I will do it” (John 14:13, 14). - ag ‘ 
But I also know that God answers prayer because He has 
answered mine. Time and time again throughout the yearsI 
have asked God for things which He alone could give, for 
things that there was no probability whatever of my getting, 
and I have told no one else of my need, and God has given me 
the very things I asked. There have been times in my life — 
_ when I have asked God for certain specific things, and it was 
80. evident that if I got them they must be from Him that I 
have said to Him in asking for them: “If you will give me 
this thing I will never doubt you again as long as I live,” 
and God has given me the very thing I asked. On one 3 
occasion God gave $6,000 within two hours in answer to prayer. _ 
On another occasion, when another and I prayed for brand 
for the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, word was received — 
by telegram that $5,000 had been given for the work by a 
man who was remote from the place where the prayer was . 
made by about 1,000 miles, and of whose very existence F 
did not know, who had never given a penny to the Moody ~ 
Bible Institute before and has never given a penny since. : 





QUESTIONS aNSWERED Of 


Now it may be said this is merely coincidence, but the 
“coincidence” has occurred so ofteu and there has been such 
an evident connection between prayer (the cause) and the 
answer (the effect), that to say it is coincidence is to be un- 
scientific. 

The history of George Miiller’s Orphan Homes at Bristol, 
England, where about 2,000 children have been housed and 
clothed and fed in answer to prayer through a long period 
of years, where no money has ever been solicited, no debt 
ever incurred, and no meal ever failed though oftentimes it 
seemed as if it might fail up to the very last moment, is to a 
fair-minded investigator of facts clear proof that God answers 
prayer. For any one to study the facts in connection with 
George Miiller’s Orphan Homes and still doubt that God 
answers prayer is for that person not only to be wilfully 
obstinate in his unbelief but thoroughly unscientific in his 
treatment of demonstrated facts. 


Is not praying asking God to change a law of nature 
which He established? 

It is not. Even an earthly father can answer the prayers 
ef his children without changing the laws of nature. Cer- 
tainly then the heavenly Father, who made the laws, can 
answer prayer. God is not the servant of His own laws; 


His own laws are His servants. If it were necessary to change — 


them in order to answer prayer He could do that, but it is 
not necessary. For a long time I lived by prayer, every- 


thing I had came in answer to prayer. I know God answered 
my prayers, but I have no reason for supposing that He 
changed one single law of nature to do it. The laws of nature — 
are not something that govern God, they are simply God’s 


fixed way of acting, fixed by His own free choice. 


Why should we tell God our needs when He knows 


them beforehand? 
_ Because He has told us to do so (Philippians 4:6), and be 
-ause in this way we are taught what we most need to know— 


> 


oo 


ean Cy at ie 3 feo Pi redhy  \<ce bie Lh eto, ¢ 
hr Y . . ay ee + 








. 


98 PRACTICAL AND 


our absolute dependence upon God. There are 1 
that even an earthly father would give his children if : 
asked for them, which he would not give them if they did 

not ask for them. It is for the good of the children that they — 
be required to ask. I for one am very glad that there are 
some things that God has withheld from me until I ask for 
them. rw 


; 


% 
, 
4 





To whom may I properly address papel God 
the Father a 

Is it right to pray to Jesus Christ and to the Holy 
Spirit? 

The normal order of prayer is to the Father, through the ¥ 
Son, in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). It is through Christ 
that we come unto God (Hebrews 7:25). God the Father 
is the ultimate person in prayer. €:: 

But there is abundant warrant in the Scriptures for praying 
unto Jesus Christ. In Acts 7:59, R. V., when Stephen was 
filled with the Spirit we find him calling upon the Lord Jesus. — 
In 2 Corinthians 12:8,9 Paul tells us that he besought ae 
Lord thrice for a certain thing, and the context shows that the 
Lord he besought was Christ. In 2 Timothy 2:22 Christians — 
are spoken of as “them that call on the Lord,” and 4:8 of the — 
same epistle shows the Lord who is meant is the Lord Janta 
In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Christians are described as those that — 
“call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” In Romans — 
10:12, 18 we are told that the same Lord over all is rich unte 
all that “call upon Him,” and in v. 9 we are told that the 
Lord of whom Paul is speaking is the Lord Jesus. 

There is only one recorded prayer in the Bible that igs 
addressed to the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 37:9), but the communion 
of the Holy Spirit is spoken of (2 Corinthians 13:14). Fur- 
thermore, Jesus taught that after His departure another Com- — 
forter would come to take His place, and that this other 
Comforter is the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 17; 15:26). We are 
dependent upon the Holy Spirit for everything, so must look * 
to Him, which implies prayer. Yet i+ is the Father and the 2 


eae a a 2 oe es 


pet aan, se 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 99 


Son who give the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; Acts 2:33), and 
it would seem that if we wish Him, instead of praying directly 
to Him we should pray to the Father or Son for Him. 


‘Why are not all our prayers answered? 

For varieus reasons. Some of our prayers are not answered 
because we ourselves are not right with God and in a position 
where God can wisely answer prayer. 

Some of-them are not answered because they are not offered 
in the name of Jesus Christ, that is, in dependence upon His 
claims upon God and not in dependence upon our own. We 
have no claims upon God. If we approach Him on the around 
of our own merit we will get nothing. 

Some of our prayers are not answered because they are rot 
wise, and therefore are not in accordance with the will of 
God (1 John 5:14, 15). 

Some of our prayers are not answered because we do not 
persist in prayer (Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8). 

James says (4:2, 3): “Ye have not because ye ask not. Ye 
ask, ard receive not because ye ask amiss.” 


If the Lord did not answer your prayers, what would 
you think was the matter? Would you think it was 
yourself? 

Most assuredly I would. I would go alone with God and 
ask Him to search me by His Spirit and His Word. If He 
brought anything to light that was displeasing to Him I 
would confess it as a sin and put it away. If He did not 
bring anything to light I would go right along praying, for 
I have learned that God does not always give us the best 
things the first time we ask for them, but that He tries and © 
develops our faith and teaches us persistence by keeping us 
waiting. The longer I live the more I feel that the teaching 
of Luke 18:1 (“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint”) 
is of the highest importance, and should sink deeply into our 
hearts. 

There was a time when God did not answer my prayers. I 






100 PRACTICAL AND PERPLE 


was living by faith. Everything I got came in 
prayer, but the supplies stopped. I cried to God 
answer. Then I looked up to God and asked Him te search 
my heart and bring to light anything in my life that displeased — 
Him. He brought to light something that had often troubled — 
me before, but which I would not admit was sin. That night 
I said: “O God, if this is wrong I will give it up”; but I got 
no answer. In the bottom of my heart I knew it was wreng 
all the time. Then I said: “O God, this is wrong, it is sin, 
I will give it up,” and the answer came. The fault was in ~ 
me, mot im God. There is nothing that God more delights to — 
do tham to answer prayer. ; 


How shall I pray so as to get what I ask for? 

First ef all, you must be such a person as the Bible describes 
as the one whose prayers God answers, that is to say, a 
person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ with a living — 
faith and shows the reality of his faith by living a MMe of 
daily obedience to His will (John 14:13-15; 15:7; 1 Johm 8:22). 

Second, you must pray to the Father, through the Son, in 
the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). Much that is called prayer is . 
not really prayer to God. There is no thought of God im the — 

3 


mind, no real approach to God in the heart. It is only om the 
ground of the shed blood of Jesus Christ that one cam really 
‘approaeh God and be sure that his prayers are heard (Hebrews 
10:19, 20). It is only when we pray in the Holy Spirit, that — 
is, under His guidance, that we pray so we may be sure that 
God will hear (Jude 20; Romans 8:26, 27). . 
Third, you must pray according to the will of God (1 John 
5:14,15). We may know the will of God by the study of the 
Werd, which is given to us to reveal God’s will, and by the 
leading ef the Spirit. Whenever you ask for anything that 
is promised in the Word of God you may know it is the will 
of God te give it, and He will give what you ask. Es 
Fourth, ene must pray persistently (Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8). 4 
Here is where many fail. They do not pray through. They A 
pray for a thing once or twice, and then conclude it is nop — 
God’s will to give it. God demands of us that —— fusth 


7 
= oa 
“4 


a 






‘QUESTIONS ANSWERED 101 


that will not take no“for an answer. Many a persem prays 
and prays up to the very point of getting a thing, amd then 
fails beeause he does not pray through. 


PROBATION AFTER DEATH. 


- Does Luke 15:4 give clear warrant that Christ is 
going to continue to seek and to save after death the 
lost who have had a good opportunity here te repent 
and come to Christ? 3 

_ It certainly does not. All that is taught is that the shepherd 
goes after the lost sheep until he finds it; but not all men are 
“sheep.” The whole argument to prove that this verse teaches 
that aH men will ultimately be found and saved proceeds 
upon the supposition that all men are sheep. But we are dis- 
tinctly tanght in the Word of God that this is not the case. 
There are sheep and there are goats (Matthew 25:31, 32). 
There are sheep and there are swine and dogs (2 Peter 2:22). 
Doubtless Jesus Christ will find every one of His sheep sooner 
or later. The Bible teaches that He will find them in the 
life that now is. But the Bible also teaches that some men 
are goats and will remain goats up to the judgment day, and 
to the goats will be said: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into 
the eternal fire which is prepared for the Devil and his 
angels” (Matthew 25:41). These are the words ef Jesus 
Himse®. 


Does not 1 Peter 3:18, 19 teach another cise ~ 
after death? 
It eertainly does not. It does teach that Christ, when He 


Was put to death in the flesh (i. e., in His body), was quick- ; 


ened in His spirit, and in His spirit went and preached to 
the spirits in prison. But we are not told that “the spirits in 
prison” were men who had lived on the earth and died in 
their sin. There is reason for supposing that they were the 
angels who were disobedient in the time of Noah (see v. 20; 

Genesis 6:1, 2; Jude 6, 7; 2 Peter 2:4). But even suppesing 
that they were the departed spirits of men who had died in 


e 


jn sin we are not told that Jesus preached the Gospet to tl 


j02 PRACTICAL AND PERPLE 











‘he word translated “preach” in this passage does not mean > 
to preach the Gospel, but to herald. There is another word 
often used in the New Testament which means to preach the 
Gospel, and it is significant that this word is not used in this_ 
passage. Nor are we told that any of these “spirits in prison” 
to whom Christ preached repented, or even could repent. The 
Passage simply teaches that the kingdom has been heralded” 
in hell as well as in heaven. 


; 


Is there any word of Scripture that warrants us to 
believe in a probation after death? 


There is not. 


PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED. 


How is it that a holy and just God allows the wicked 
to prosper while the good often suffer poverty? 

What we call prosperity is often in reality a curse. On the 
other hand, poverty is often a great blessing. God allows thi 
good to suffer poverty because that is what they most need, 
all things taken into consideration. One of the things that 
I often thank God for is that the large amount of money that | 
I expected to inherit from my father never came to me, and 
that at one time I was allowed to suffer extreme paren 
I have known what it means to be in a foreign land with 
wife and child, in a strange city where they spoke a strange y 
tongue, and money all gone. I now thank God forit. It may — 
have seemed hard at the time, but it. brought great blessing. 
Poverty drives men nearer to God, makes them feel more - 
deeply their dependence upon Him. It is not something to . 
be dreaded, but something to thank God for. 4 

The psalmist was confronted with this same perplexity. He 
says in Psalm 73:3: -“I was envious at the foolish, when F 
Saw the prosperity of the wicked,” and in the 12th and 13th 
verses he adds: “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper 
{n the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed 








a = 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED _ 103 





my hewt in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.” But 

further down in the psalm he tells us that all his perplexity 

was solved when he went into the sanctuary of God, when 
he communed with God. The mystery was then explained to 
him, he understood the end of the wicked, he saw how their 
prosperity was but for a moment, and how God had set 
them in slippery places, and how they were brought to desola- 
tion in a moment. On the other hand, he discovered of hime 
self and of the righteous in general, that even in their poverty 
they were continually with God, and that God upheld by His 
right hand; that down in this world of testing and of trial 
He guides us with His counsel, and that when we come out of 
the fire purified He afterwards receives us into His glory 
(Psalm 73:24). 

Much of our difficulty comes from the fact that we forget 
that this world is not all, that this brief world is simply a 
preparation for a future eternal world, and that happy is the 
man who has his evil things in this life but in the eternal 
life to come his good things, and wretched indeed is the man 
who has his good things in this life and his evil things in 
that eternal world that is to come (Luke 16:25). 


PURGATORY. 


Is the doctrine of purgatory Scriptural? 
‘The Scriptures do teach an intermediate state after death, 
but this is not purgatory. See under “Future Life” and “Pro- 
bation after Death.” 


_ RELIGION. 


_ What difference does it make what religion a man 
professes provided he does the best he can? 

It makes all the difference in the world. Christianity is 
true; other religions are false, though they may have elements 
of truth in them. It does not make a lie any less a lie to 
believe it most sincerely. Indeed. the more sincerely and 


- 









104 PRACTICAL AND P ; + 
ol 
heartily a man believes a lie the worse he is off. I is Ts om 
lieve that poison is food, and believe it very stnoeraly,| 
will kill me if I take it just as quickly even though I 
it is food as it would had I known it to be poison. If Is 
on the wrong train, the train going the wrong way, it } 
not take me to my desired destination no matter hew 
cerely and earnestly I believe it is going to that desth n. 
It is the truth that sets men free when they believe it, and 
no amount of earnestness of faith in an error will set me f 
Indeed, the more earnestly one believes error the more ii 
enslave him. x 
There is no more foolish thought in the world today thar 
that it does not make any difference what a man belie 
he is only sincere. What a man really believes dete 
what a man is, and if he believes error he will be wreng, ne 
only for the life that is to come but for the life that now 1 
no matter how seriously or earnestly he believes it. , 


4s 
ric 


- A 



















Ms 
< 


RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 


How is it possible we shall rise again with the 
bodies we had upon earth? a 

It is not possible. The Bible does not teach we shall rise 
again with the same body we had upon earth. It distinctly 
teaches we shall not rise with the same body. Im 1 Corin 
thiams 15:37, 38 we are told distinctly: “That which thon 
sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, 
it may chance of wheat or of some other grain; but God 
giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his 
own body.” In v. 42 we read: “So also is the resurrection of 
the dead.” That is, as the context clearly shows, just as in 
our own sowing it is another body that rises, so also im the 
resurrection of the dead. The body that rises is mot the 
very body that was buried, though it is the outcome of thai 
body. The Bible distinctly teaches that there shall be a re 
rection of the body, but not the same body (that is, not cor 
posed of exactly the same material elements) that was 

4 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 105 


in the grave, but nevertheless a body, a real body. The bodies 


» 


we now have are sown in corruption, but shall be raised in 
incorruption. They are sown in dishonor, but shall be raised 
in glory. They are sOwn in weakness but shall be raised 
in power. They are sown a natural body, but shall be raised 
a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there ig a 
spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). 


What kind of a body shall we have in the resur 
rection? 

Tt will not be flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 15:58, 51). 
but on the other hand it will not be pure spirit, but have flesh 
and bones (Luke 24:39). It will be incorruptible—not subject 
to decay, imperishable, glorious, powerful (1 Corinthians 15:42, 
43). The days of weariness and weakness will be forever at 
an end. The body will be able to accomplish all-the spirit’s 
purpose. It will be luminous, shining, dazzling, bright like the 
sun (Matthew 13:43; Daniel 12:3; compare Matthew 17:2; 
Luke 9:29). Resurrection bodies will differ from one another 
(1 Corinthians 15:41, 42). The resurrection body will be 
the consummation of our adoption, our placing as sons 
(Romans 8:23). In the resurrection body it will be eutwardly 
manifest that we are sons of God. Before His incarsation 


_ Christ was “in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6), that is, 


in the visible appearance of God, The word translated “form” 
in this passage means that with which anything strikes the 
Outward vision. So shall we, in the resurrection, be im the 
visible appearance of God (compare Colossians 3:4, R. V.; 
1 John 3:2, R. V.). 


REWARDS. 


Is # Scriptural for a Christian to work for reward? 

It certainly is. The Bible constantly holds out rewards, 
both temporal and eternal, for faithful service. Our Lord 
Jesus Himself tells us to lay up treasures in heaven. (Matthew 
6:19-21). The Christian should not serve merely for the reward 
but out of love to Jesus Christ, hut he has a right te expect 

























Waste oy es lo 


> 7306 PRACTICAL AND PERPLE} “ee 
a reward, and the reward is a great incentive to f ith 
ice, 


* ROMAN CATHOLICISM. 


What does Matthew 16:18 mean: ‘Thou are Peter, 
and upon this rock I will build My church’’? 
this verse teach that Peter was the rock upon which 
Christ would build His church, and does it prove that 
the Roman Catholic church as built upon Peter is the 
only true church? 5 

The passage does not teach that Peter is the rock u 
+3 whieh Christ would build His church. Peter’s name in & 
is Petres, meaning a piece of rock. The word t 
“rock” in the verse is petra, which means a rock. 

Peter had just made a confession of Jesus as the Chi 
the Som of the living God (v. 16). Jesus, as the Christ, 
Son of the living God. is the Rock upon which the n . 
is built. Other foundation can no man lay than this | (1 
Corinthians 3:11). Peter by his faith in Jesus as the Christ, 
the Son of God, and by his confession of Him as such, 
a piece of the Rock. Every believer by believing in Je 
as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by confess 
Him as such, becomes a piece of the Rock, and in that s » 
a part of the foundation upon which the church is bull, 
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone (Bphes 
2:20-22). oe 

Furthermore, the Roman Catholic church is not built v nn 
Peter. There is no real evidence that Peter was the first bishop — 
of the ehurch of Rome, and even if he were that would not pro re | 
that those who followed him in the office were his true succes 
sors. The true successors of Peter are those who build on — 
the same Christ that Peter built upon, who teach the same 
doctrine and who exhibit the same life. 


[aay — 


What does Matthew 16:19 mean: ‘“‘I will give unto” 
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatso- 


moe 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED 107 


ever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, 
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be 
loosed in heaven’’? Does this teach that Peter had the 
power to admit any one to the kingdom of heaven or 
shut him out, and that therefore the Roman Catholic 
church built on Peter is the true church? 

No, it does not teach anything of the kind. 

When any one studied under a Jewish rabbi it was the 
custom of the rabbi to give him a key when he had become 
perfect in the doctrine, signifying that he was now able te 
unlock the secrets of the kingdom. Christ’s words refer to 
this custom. Peter by the confession of Jesus as the Christ, 
the Sen of God, had proven that the Father was revealing 
the truth unto him (v. 17), and Jesus looked forward to 
that day when, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter would be 
guided into all the truth (John 16:12-14) and thus be compe- 
tent to unlock the kingdom to men. Every Spirit-filled man, 
every one taught by the Holy Spirit, has the keys of the king- 
dom of heaven. He has spiritual discernment, and is com- 
petent to unlock the kingdom to men. 

“Binding” and “loosing” were common expressions in Jesus 
day for forbidding and permitting. What a rabbi forbade he 
was said to “bind,” what he permitted he was said to “loose.” 
Peter and the other disciples, as Spirit-filled men, would have 
discernment to know what God permitted and what God for- 
bade. And whatsoever Peter as a Spirit-filled man forbade on 
earth would be forbidden in heaven, and whatsoever he per- 
mitted would be permitted in heaven. 

We see Peter on the day of Pentecost using the keys to 
unlock the kingdom to the Jews, and 3,000 entered in that 
day. In the 10th chapter of the Acts we see Peter now using 
the keys to unlock the kingdom to the Gentiles, and a whole 
household entered into the kingdom that day. 

Every time any man preaches the Gospel in the power of 
the Holy Spirit he is using the keys. Not only did Peter have 
the keys, but we may have them today, and being taught 
by the Spirit we may have discernment as to what God permits 
and as to what God forbids. and then what we forbid here 


108 


on earth will be the thing that God in heaven forbids and 
what we permit will be the thing that God in heaven permits. 


Was Peter the first pope? ~ _ 

He was not. There was no pope until long after Peter was — 
dead and buried. The papacy was a later growth, of which 
there was not even an apparent germ in the days of Peter. 
So far was Peter from being a pope that the apostle Pau} 
rebuked him openly before them all (Galatian 2:14). _ 

There is no proof that Peter was ever bishop of the church ~ 
in Rome. There is no decisive proof that he was ever in 
Rome, but even if he was he certainly was not a pope im any 
such sense as the word now bears. There is nothing im the 
Bible that warrants such an office as that of pope. Im fact, 
Jesus Christ expressly forbids any man holding such an office. 
He says in Matthew 23:8 and following verses: “Be met ye 
ealled rabbi,.for One is your teacher, even Christ, and all ye 
are brethren; and call no man your father on the earth, for 
One is your Father, which is in heaven; neither be ye called 
masters, for One is your Master, even Christ.” Now the pope 
claims to be a “father” in the very sense used here, inthe very 
sense that Jesus forbids that any man be called father. ‘4 


THE SABBATH. 


Why was the Jewish sabbath, or the seventh day of 
the week which God commanded in the Fourth Com- 
mandment to be observed as the sabbath day, changed 
to the first day of the week, or what we call the Lord’s 
Day, and now observed as the Christian sabbath? 


In answer, let me say first of all that there is no command- 
ment in the Ten Commandments which says they were to 
keep the seventh day of the week. The words “of the week” 
are added by man to the commandment as given by God. 
What Ged really commanded through Moses was: “Six days 
shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day - 
is the sabbath of the Lord thy God.” It does not say “the 
seventh day of the week”; it says the seventh day after six 





5 ae ie e ~ 
eae Cee Oe 2 ete a le 


_ = =) es aa 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 109 


_@ays ef labor. Whether it should be the seventh day of the 


week or the first day of the week depends upon whether one 


is a Jew or a Christian. Whether we keep the seventh day 
of the week or the first day of the week we are keeping the 
Fourth Commandment to the very letter. If one is a Jew 
belonging to the old creation let him keep the seventh day of 
the week, but if he is a Christian and on resurrection ground 
let him keep the first day of the week, resurrection day. 

The Jewish sabbath was not changed to the Lord’s Day. 
The Lord’s Day and the Jewish sabbath, while both are a lit- 
eral keeping of the Fourth Commandment, are not the same 
day, and do not stand for the same thought. One belongs 
to the old creation, the other to the new. It is sometimes 
said by Seventh Day Adventists that there is no authority for 
the change, and that the Roman Catholic church or the pope 
made the change. This. statement is absolutely untrue. 
History proves that Christians kept the first day of the week 
long before there was any Roman Catholic church. We have 
indications of their keeping it in New Testament times. It 
was on the first day of the week that the early disciples came 
together to break bread (Acts 20:7). It was on the first day 
of the week that believers laid by in store (1 Corinthians 
16:2), and in the writings of the early fathers, long before 
the Roman Catholic church had developed and of course long 
before there was any pope, we find it stated again and again 


that the first day of the week was the one that Carine 


observed. 


If yeu wish to go into the question at length, consult my 


little book, Ought Christians to Keep the Sabbath? 


Paul explicitly teaches that a Christian should not allow > 


himself to be judged in regard to the Jewish sabbath, that the 


Jewish sabbath belongs along with other Jewish observances | 


in regard to meat and drink, holy days, new moons, etc., which 


were the shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ 


(Colossians 2:16, 17). 


- 


Fe Pays ~ Pg See an ee 




























* a 
i 110 PRACTICAL AND PERF 


SANCTIFICATION. 


%. <r es os 
Some teach that a believer is sanctified instantaneous. . 
ly, others declare that sanctification is a gradual pro- 
cess, perfected in heaven only. What does the Bible 
teach as to this? my 
The Bible teaches that every believer is sanctified tenon 
the moment he believes on Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2, — 
R. V.; 6:11). The moment any one becomes a member of 
the church of God by faith in Christ Jesus, that moment he is 
sanctified. By the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once 
for all we are cleansed forever from all the guilt of sin. — 
We are “perfected forever” as far as our standing before God 
is concerned (Hebrews 10:10, 14). The sacrifice does not 
need to be repeated as the Jewish sacrifices were. The work 
is done once for all. Sin is put away forever (Hebrews 9: 26, 
compare Galatians 3:13), and we are set apart (sanctified) 7 
forever as God’s peculiar and eternal possession. In this 
sense every believer is instantly sanctified the moment he 
believes on Jesus. : ; 
But there is still another sense in which every believer ; 
may be instantly sanctified. It is his privilege and Wis duty 
‘to present his whole body a living sacrifice to God (Romans 
12:1). Such an offering is well-pleasing to God, and when 
it is made God sends down the fire of the Holy Ghost and 
takes to Himself what is thus presented. Then instantly the 
believer so far as his will is concerned is wholly — oF 
perfectly sanctified. ‘ ir 
But after he is perfectly sanctified in this sense, he may ; 
and doubtless often will discover, as he studies the Word of — 
God and as he is taught by the Holy Spirit, that there are 
individual acts and habits of his life, that there are forms 
of feeling, speech and action, that are not in conformity with 
this central purpose of his life. These should be confessed 
to God as blameworthy and put away, and thus this depart- — 
ment of his life also brought by the Holy Spirit into con- 
formity with the will of God as revealed in His Word. But 


* 





ae. 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 111 


the victory in this newly discovered and unclaimed territory 
may also be instantaneous. There is no need of a protracted 
battle. For example, if I should discover in myself an irri- 
tability of temper that was manifestly displeasing to God 
I could go to God at once and confess it and renounce it, 


-and in an instant, not by my own strength but by looking to 


Jesus and by surrendering this department of my life to the 
control of the Holy Spirit, overcome it and never have another 
failure in that direction. 
But while there is this instantaneous sanctification that 
any child of God may claim at any moment, there is also 
a progressive work of sanctification, an increasing in love, an 
abounding more and more in a godly walk and in pleasing 
God, a growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, a being transformed into the image 
of our Lord Jesus Christ from glory unto glory, each new 
gaze at Him making us more like Him, a growing up into 
Christ in all things until we attain unto a full grown man, 
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (1L 
Thessalonians 3:12; 4:1, 10; R. V.; 2 Peter 3:18, R. V.; 2 
Corinthians 3:18, R. V.; Ephesians 4:11-15). 
“Sanctification becomes complete in the fullest sense at the 
coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 
5:23, R. V.; 3:12, 13). It is not in the life that now is, nor 
is it at death, but at the coming of Christ that we are entirely | 
Sanctified in this sense. 


SECRET ORDERS. 


Do you believe in secret orders? Do you think it 
is wise to publicly expose them in your preaching? 

I do not believe in secret orders, and believe it is wise 
to show young Christians the peril of them. It ought to be 
done wisely; I do not believe in making a hobby of that sort 
of thing. Among the greatest hindrances to the church of 
Jesus Christ are the masonic and other secret orders, The 
country churches are filted with women because the lodges 
nave taken the place of the church with men—and even the 


t 





112 PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXING 


women are joining their orders now. Nevertheless, the first 


thing I weuld do would not be to pitch into the lodge; it would 
be to get men and women converted to Jesus Christ. 


Ought a Christian to retain membership in a seeret 
society? 

No. I do not see how a Christian who intelligently studies 
his Bible can do so. The Bible tells us plainly: “Be not 
unequaHy yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellew- 
ship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, or what fel- 
lowship hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). All 
secret soeieties of which I have any knowledge are made up, 
partly at least, of unbelievers, that is, of those who have not 
accepted Jesus Christ and surrendered their wills to God. In 
the light ef this express commandment of God’s Word I do 
not see how a Christian can retain membership in them. I 
am not saying that no members of secret societies are Chris- 


tians, for I have known a great many excellent Christians © 


who were members of secret societies, but how they can 
continue to be so I cannot see. Many continue members of 
the masonic and similar orders simply because they are not 
acquainted with the teachings of the Word of God on the 
subject. 

Furthermore, in some secret societies the Scriptures them- 
selves are garbled in the ritual. The name of Jesus Christ 
is cut out of passages in which it occurs in the Bible so as 
not to offend Jews and other non-Christians. How a Christian 
can retain membership in a society that thus handles deceit- 
fully the Word of God, and above all cuts out the name of his 
Lord and Master, I cannot understand. 

Further yet, oaths of the most shocking character are re- 
quired in some secret societies, and there are ceremonies 
which are simply a caricature of Bible truths; for pa 
there is even a mock resurrection scene. 

Further still, Christianity courts the light and not the @ark- 
ness (Ephesians 5:8, 11, 12). Doubtless many Christiams go 


into the masonic and other orders for the purpose of getting 


~ 





QUESTIONS ANSWERED 113 


hold ef the non-Christian members and winning them- for 
Christ, but this is a mistaken policy. Experience preves that 
the seeret society is more likely to swamp the spiritual life 
of the Christian than the Christian is to win his felleow-masens 
to Christ. , 


SINLESS PERFECTION. 


Is the doctrine of sinless perfection Scriptural? 

How can 1 John 3: 6, 9 and kindred passages in 
that epistle be adequately reconciled with 1 John 1: 8, 
10? 

They can be adequately reconciled by noticing exactly what 
John says. 

Tn 1 John 3:6 he says: “Whosoever abideth in Him (that 
is, in @hrist) sinneth not,” literally, “is not sinning,” that is, 
is not practicing sin. The verb is in the present tense, which 
denotes continuous present action. John does not say that 
he never sins but that he is not making a practice of sin, 
does not continue sinning, (this being the exact force of 
the language used.) 

The same thing may be said of 1 John 3:9, the literal trans- 
lation ef the opening words of which verse is: “Every one 
begotten out of God is not doing sin (that is, sin is not his 
practice), because His seed (that is, God’s seed) abideth in 
him, amd he cannot be sinning (be making a practice of sin) 
because he is begotten out of God.” a 

We should also bear in mind John’s definition of sin im the — 


4th verse of the same chapter: “Sin is lawlessness.” In 
John’s usage here sin is the conscious doing of that which 


is known to be contrary to the will of God. Of course, one 
who is begotten of God may do that which is contrary to the 
will ef God but which he does not know to be contrary to 
the will ef God, and therefore he does not sin in the strict 
sense in which “sin” is used here. Afterwards, when he comes 


to know the will of God, he will see that it is wrong, and 


confess and forsake it, but any one hegotten of God will not 
& 


_ be making a practice of doing that which “ts inowa t 1 


— 


‘those who had familiar spirits was condemned by God through — ; 


‘ 

, 

7 

z 

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a 
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contrary to the will of God. » 

It is plain that there is no contradiction between what | 
actually said here and between what John <— says 
1 John 1:8, 10. 

In the first of these verses he says: “If we say we have 
no sin we deceive ourselves.” This does not mean that any — 
one who says he is not sinning at the present moment, that — 
he is not doing that which he knows at the present moment 
to be contrary to the will of God, deceives himself; for there 
are certainly moments when we can say that we are not at 
that moment doing that which we know to be contrary to the on 
will of God. But what John says is that if a man says he 4 
has no sins to be forgiven, to be cleansed by the blood of 
Jesus (see context), that is, that he has never sinned, he- 
deceives himself, and the truth is not in him. — 

In the 10th verse John adds the further thought: “If we g 
say that we have not sinned,” we not only deceive ourselves Se 
but “we make God a liar, and His word is not in us” A 
man may not be sinning at the present moment—and if a 
man is born of God he will not be sinning at the present 
moment—but nevertheless he has sinned in the past, amd if — 


not in him. The reconciliation here, as in every other ap- 
parent contradiction in the Bible, is found by taking gxactly_ 
what the inspired authors say. 


SPIRITUALISM. 


Can a Christian be a spiritualist? 
An intelligent Christian cannot be a spiritualist, for ane / 
itualism is exposed and condemned in the most unmistakable I. 2 
terms in the Bible. ¥ 
Spiritualism is not something modern. It is as old as ‘the > “ 
days of Moses. The mediums in those days had, or prof <o 
to have, familiar spirits who spoke through them. Consulting ~ 


Moses in the strongest terms. He says (for example) a 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 115 


Leviticus 19731: “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, 
neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the 
Lord your God.” Again He says in Leviticus 20:6: “And 
the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and 
after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set 
My face against that soul, and will cut him off from among 
his people.” Again, in Deuteronomy 18:10, 12: “There shall 
not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his 
daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, 
or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a 
charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, 
or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomi- 
hation unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the 
Lord thy God doth drive them (the Canaanites) out from before 
thee.” -One of the strongest charges brought against Manasseh 
king of Judah was that he was a spiritualist, and thus pro- 
voked God to anger (2 Kings 21:1, 2, 6). Saul lost ais 
kingdom and his head for consulting a medium. We read 
in 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14: “So Saul died for his transgression 
which he committed against the Lord, even against the 
word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking 
counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; 
and inquired not of the Lord: therefore He slew him, and 
turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” 

Nearly all so-called modern spiritualism is a fraud. The 
tricks of the mediums have been exposed time and time again, 
but probably it is not all fraud. After all has been explained 
that can be explained by sleight of hand and natural causes 
there is still a remnant that points to supernatural origin 
in some of the manifestations of modern spiritualism. But 
because it is supernatural it does not prove that it is right 
or true. According to the teaching of the Bible there is a 
real unseen world, a world of spirits, but some of the spirits 
are bad, emissaries and agents of the Devil (Ephesians 6:12? 
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). The fact that a man or woman can 
do things and make revelations that we cannot explain by 
natural causes. things and revelations that seem to show 



























116 PRACTICAL AND PERP 


they are peculiarly in contact with the supernatural — ; 
does not prove that they are in league with God. It 
rather prove that they are in league with the Devil It may 
be that spirits do manifest themselves, but it does net follow 
that they are the spirits of our departed friends, or other = ; 
good and wise people who have left this world. There is good 
reason for believing that these spirits who come to us pre- 
tending to be the spirits of our loved ones who have departed, — 
are demoniacal spirits. -A prominent medium, who was at 
that time operating in Chicago, once came to me and said: 
“Mr. Torrey, these things are not all sleight of hamd and ~ 
trickery. There are spirits, but they are demons. I was 
tormented all last night by the demons through whom I do 2 
my work.” ‘2 
I asked him why he did not renounce the whole business. Re 
He replied that he was making a splendid living through it, 
and knew of no other way in which he could do so well. 
A friend of mine who dabbled in spiritualism and 
unusual powers as a medium was afterwards-led te renounce — 
the whole business. He went into it thinking it was all 
right, but he had not gone far before he found it was de 
moniacal, Many instances of the same thing have occurred. 
Even if the spirits manifested are the spirits of our departed: ie 
loved ones, we are commanded in the Bible not to seek knowl- — 
edge in this way (Isaiah 8:19, 20), and wheever dabhles in” 
spiritualism at all enters the Devil's territory and disobeys “4 
the most explicit commandments of God. oe 
The spiritual and moral influence of spiritualism is ruinous. — 
Sooner or later it leads to the renouncing of Jesus Christ, and 
to all kinds of free love and other immorality. When we 


seek communication with them, and thus well-meaning people 
are led into spiritualism, but it is a snare of the Devil ae. 
leads to the eternal ruin of the soul. 


TEMPERANCE. F 


= place do you give temperance in your meet- ; 


cuts een ke OS ieee eine 


= ty ea 7 


pare, QUESTIONS ANSWERED > 117 

A very prominent place. One of the commonest and most 
destructive sins of our time is that of intemperance. It is 
doing more to break hearts and ruin homes than almost any 
_ other sin, so I constantly attack in my sermons the use of 
intoxicating liquors, and their sale. I urge upon Christians 
the duty of total abstinence for their own sake and for the 
sake Of others. I make it a point that if a man can do 
without intoxicating liquors as well as not, then he ought 
to do without them for the sake of his brother, but that if 
he cannot do without them just as well as not he ought to 
do without them for his own sake. 

I do not hold temperance meetings as such. I find it is 
better to handle the matter as it is handled in the Bible, 
bringing # in in its proper relation to other things. I never ~ 
give the pledge to an unsaved man, for I know perfectly wel! 
he will break it if he signs it. Usually when a man is thor- 
oughly eonyerted he hardly needs a pledge, though I believe 
the pledge is helpful in some cases. We do have meetings 
especially for drunkards. Usually we hold a meeting about 
midnight and sweep the streets and saloons, sending out 
workers and bands of music to gather them in. In one such 
meeting in Birmingham, Pngland, there were about $3,000 
drunkards present, most of them drunk at that time. Of these 
something like 180 professed to accept Christ at that meeting. 
The noisiest and mose unmanageable one of all came forward 
and accepted Christ, and returned the next night so changed 
- that hardly anyone knew him. 


What shall a wife do whose husband continually 
drinks? 


Go to God, and He will show her if there is anything in her ~— 


that makes her husband drink. If she {is cross and everything 
disagreeable in the home, while in the prayer meeting she 
seems everything sweet and angelic, she should first get 
thoroughly right with God herself, then get filled with the 
Holy Spirit, that she may show by the beauty of a Spirit-filied 
life the beauty of holiness. Her husband will be won and at- 



















¢ _ tunity to speak to her husband, to move heaven 
and never quit until he is converted. 


THE THEATRE. 


Is there any harm in a Christian going ¢ 
to see a good play? - 
There is a great difference between the different 

which are presented in our theatres today. Some plays, 
an increasingly large number of them, are utterly bad an 
demoralizing. Other plays are negative in their moral ch: 
acter, while still other plays ar- wholesome in their m 
tone. So also there is a great difference between actors. Sc 
actors and actresses are very corrupt and corrupting, oth 
actors and actresses are not nearly so bad, while it is te be 
hoped that there are actors and actresses who hold up before 
themselves high moral ideals and strive to live up to these 
fF ideals. “s 
At first thought, then, it would seem as if there would b 
no harm in a Christian attending such plays as are moral 
uplifting in their tone and which are rendered by actors 
actresses of unimpeachable charactet. But when one thin ks 
more deeply on this question the problem is not oo ino 
| as that. . 2 
: The theatre as it exists Sudees is an institution, and + 
consider it as it actually is. It would be very easy to 5 
a theatre that would be positively helpful to the morals of a 
community, but the question is not what kind of a theatre 
can we imagine but what kind of a theatre exists today. The 
theatre as it exists today is beyond a question an w lean 
thing, an altogether demoralizing institution. It is ruinous, — ° 
first of all and most of all, to those who pottorsi on the 
stage. A leading dramatic critic of largest experience has 
said that it is practically impossible for a woman to perform — 
on the stage today and preserve her womanly modesty. 
may be putting it too strong. I certainly hone it is, but 1 





ers aw 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED 269 


' know personally from conversation with theatrical people, 
some of them among the most prominent theatrical people 
in the world, that it is exceedingly difficult for a woman to 
attain to any height in the theatrical profession without 
submitting to things that outrage every highest womanly 
instinct. Many and many a woman has gone on the stage 
with the intention of maintaining her womanly ideals, but 
has been forced to give-up-either-her ideals or the stage. 
Some of the specific facts I have learned about this from a 
personal examination probably better remain unwritten. But 
this I know, that the effect of the stage upon ambitious young 
men and young women of lofty moral ideals who have been 
led inte becoming actors and actresses has been ruinous. 

Has a Christian any right to patronize an institution of 
this sort? As said above, the theatre as it exists today is 
an unclean thing, and God distinctly tells us in 2 Corinthians 
6:17, R. V.: (“Wherefore come ye out from among ‘them, ane 
be ye Beet. saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; 
and I will receive you.” ) 

I have noticed furthermore that when professing Christians 
begin to go to the theatre they begin to lose spiritual power, 
and that on the other hand when those who have frequented 
the theatre are led to renounce it they get a great spiritual 
blessing. I have never known a theatre-going Christian of 
deep spirituality. I have noticed that when Christians become 
earnest students of the Bible, and men and women of prayer, 
and active in winning souls for Christ, they invariably give 
up the theatre. : 


TROUBLE. 


Does trouble come from God? 
Do you believe God ever sends trouble to us pur- 
posely, or that it comes in the natural order of events? 
What we call “the natural order of events” is God’s order- 
ing. God controls all things. Every detail of our history 
~ is in His hands, and that which appears to us most natural 























120 PRACTICAL AND PERF *. 
“ a ‘s 
and inevitable is just as much a part of His will as t 
which we think we see to be a direct interference on His 
God doubtless permits trouble to come to us some 
He permits it to come when He sees that we need it. He 
prevent its coming if He saw we did not need fit. If w 
would surrender our wills to God we would not need trouble 
as a discipline or chastening that we do need when eur will 
are not thus surrendered, and we would thus escape 
much misfortune. If we would learn more quickly Go 
purpose in the troubles that come to us we would more spee¢ 
ily be relieved from them. For example, doubtless m 
persons are sick who might be well if they would only le 
the lesson that God is trying to teach them by the sickness 
and then look to Him for recovery. I have known people to 
be in trouble for months or years, and suddenly be delivere: 
from it when they learned to surrender their wills absot 
to God and rejoice in His will whatever it might be, and th 
looked to Him that they might be delivered for His glory. — 
Satan, as a source of our troubles, is also under the 
of God. See, for example, the cases of Job (1:12; 2:6) 
Paul (1 Corinthians 12:7-9). 


UNPARDONABLE SINS. 


What is ‘‘the unpardonable sin’? Can a person b 
saved who has committed it? 7 
What is the sin against the Holy Ghost? a 
The sin against the Holy Ghost, or (as it is wsually — 
called) “the unpardonable sin,” is mentioned in Matthew 12:31, — 
$2, and if you will look at these verses carefully in the con- — 
text you will see that it is blasphemy against the Spirit; th: 2% 
is to say, it is the deliberate attributing to the Devil what — 
is known to be the work of the Holy Spirit. The F s 
knew in their innermost heart that what Jesus was doing He — 
was doing by the power of the Spirit of God (v. 28), but 
- they were not willing to accept Jesus and His claims, and in — 
their opposition to Him they deliberately attributed te Beelze — 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 12% 


bub what in their innermost heart they knew to be the work 
of the Spirit of God. 

If one commits this sin he passes. beyond the possibility ef 
repentance, he becomes so hardened in sin that he will not- 
come to Jesus. His eternal destiny is sealed. 

The great majority of people who faney they have committed 
this “unpardonable sin” really have not. If anyone has a 
desire to repent and turn to Christ, that of itself is a proof 
that he has not committed it. We have Jesus’ own word 
for it that any one who will come to Him He will in me wise 
east out (John 6:37). 


Some years ago I was converted and led a happy 
Christian life for some time. Then I fell into sin. 
Now I am in despair, for I think that my case is the 
one described in Hebrews 6: 4-6, and that it is im- 
possible to renew me again to repentance, Is there =e, 
hope for me? 

Yes, there is every hope for you if you will come to Jesus. 
He says in John 6:37: “Him that cometh to Me I will in no 
wise cast out.” He does not say: “Him that was never con- 
verted and that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” 
He says: “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise. cast out.” 
It is evident you havea desire to come. It is plain as day 
in God’s Word that God desires you to come (Revelation 
22:17). Therefore, just come, and you have Jesus’ ewan word 
for it that He will reccive you! a 

_ Hebrews 6:4-6 does not describe your case at all. See how 
it reads: on 

“Wor it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, — 
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made par- 
takers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of 
God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall 
away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they 
erucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him 
to am open shame.” 

The difficulty with the one here described is that it is im: 
possible to renew him again unto repentance, and that is 


ic. 


mS 


i 


. 


> 


et el ae 


_ shows that you desire to repent. The words in H 


to renew them again unto repentance. Further down in the 


to do what is here described (v. 9). The warning 


- useful Christians. ‘ Rt 


fully after that we have received the knowledge of a 























the reason why he cannot be saved. But your v 


wes 


were in consequent danger of apostatizing and reno 4 
Christ and going back to-Judaism, and the Holy Spirit pa 2 
them that if they do, after all the light they have had, there . 
will be no longer hope for them because it will be impossible / 


chapter the writer says that he does not expect any of 


would heJp to keep them from doing it. . 
Hebrews 6:4-6 therefore does not describe merely a back- 
slider. It describes an apostate, one who not merely falls inte we 
sin but who after having been enlightened and having tas 
the heavenly gift and having been made an actual x! 
of the Holy Ghost falls away, that is, apostatizes. The Greek | 
word translated “fall away” in this passage is used in the ; 
Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe one vps 
has apostatized from God and gone astray after idols. ies 2 
Bzektel 14:13; 15:8). * 


prover from many Scriptures. (See Jeremiak 3: 12-14; Hester z 
14:1-4.) Peter himself, after having started to follow Christ, 
sinned most grievously, denying his Lord with oaths and — 
curses, but his Lord received him back and gave him a greater | % 
fulness of blessing than he had ever known before. Amy one 
who has the desire to repent of sin and return to the Lord ~ 
Jesus may know clearly from that fact that he is not the 
person described in Hebrews 6:4-6. I have met many people 
whe were in hopeless despair because they thought their case 
was here described, but after being shown the truth of the — 
Lord Jesus’ willingness to receive them if they would come > ¢ 
back to Him they have come back, and are now happy and 


What is meant by Hebrews 10:26—“‘If we sin wile : 


QUESTIONS ANSWERED 123 


truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins’’? 
Does it mean that if any one who sins knowingly after 
he has received the knowledge of the truth there is no 
longer any hope of pardon or salvation for him? - 

No, it means nothing of the kind. 

The words translated “sin wilfully” mean to sin willingly, 
voluntarily, of one’s own accord. Such sin is in contrast with 
the sins committed inconsiderately, or from ignorance, or 
from weakness. One may sin knowingly without sinning 
wilfully. He may know that what he is doing is wrong, and 
yet he does it not voluntarily (not willingly, not of his own 
accord) but under the compulsion of temptation that is too 
‘strong for him. The word translated “wilfully” is the same 
word used in i Peter 5:2, where the contrast is drawn between 
the one who does his work by constraint and the one who 
does it of his own glad choice. ‘There are many who sin 
Knowingly but who do not sin wilfully in this sense. 

If one, after receiving a knowledge of the truth, deliberately 
and of his own choice chooses to sin rather than to obey God, 
there remains no more sacrifice for sins for him, only a fearful 
looking for of judgment, a fierceness of fire. Such an one 
will have no desire to repent. 

The fact that one has a desire to repent proves of itself that 
he has not sinned in this way. No one described in Hebrews 
10:26 will be seeking light and desiring to come back to God. 

. The very fact that a person asks such a question as this 
shows that he is not the person described in Hebrews 10:26, 


VICTORY OVER SIN. 


I was converted several years ago, but am constantly 
giving way to temptation. I know that my sins are 
forgiven, but is there any way in which I can have 
daily victory over sin? 

There is. The salvation which is offered to us in Jesus 
Christ is a three-fold salvation: 

First, salvation from the guilt of sin. This we get througr 
the atoning death of Christ on the cross. When Jesus Christ 


124 PRACTICAL AND PERPLEXING 


died on the cross of Calvary He made a perfect atonement 
for eur sins and put them away forever (Galatians 3:13; 2 
Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:12-14), and the moment we 
accept Him that moment we are saved from the guilt of sin. 
Every sin is blotted out. It is just as if we had never sinned. 
Our standing before God is perfect. We are justified in His 
sight (Act 10:43; 13:38, 39; 2 Corintians 5:21). 


Second, salvation from the power of sin. This we get, 


through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who, having risen 
from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, 
ever lives to make intercession for us, and is able to saye 
not merely from the uttermost but “to the uttermost” those 
who come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:25). By His resurrec- 
tion power in our lives He gives us day by day victory over 
the power of temptation and sin. Having been reconciled 
to God by His death, now being reconciled we are saved day 
by day from the power of sin by His life, that is, by His resur- 
rection life (Romans 5:10). 

Furthermore, the risen Christ imparts to us His Holy Spirit, 
and what we cannot do in our own strength (namely, overcome 
sin) the Spirit of God whom the risen Christ gives to dwell 
in us accomplishes for us (Romans 8:1-4). So then the way 
to get victory day by day over sin is to stop trying te fight 
sin in your own strength, and to look up to the risen Christ, 


believing that He has all power in heaven and on earth, and 


that He therefore has power to set you free from the power 
of sin, and just to trust Him to do it. 

Furthermore, surrender your whole life to the control of 
the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to come in and take possession of 
all your desires, all your purposes, all your plans, all your 
thoughts. He will do it. He will bear His own fruit in your 
life—“love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, 
faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22, 23). If we 
“walk in the Spirit,” that is, submit our whole life to His con- 


trel, we shall not “fulfill the lust of the fiesh” (Galatians: 


5:16). 
Third, salvation from the very presence of sin. This we 
obtain through Christ’s coming again. This. we shall enjoy 





panes 2 ge See 


ys 


oe QUESTIONS. ANSWERED 125 


when He does come again and when we are made perfectly 
like Him, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). 


WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? 


Should ‘‘What would Jesus do?’’ be the standard 
for Christian conduct and practice today? 

It certainly should, and it is the only standard. We read 
in 1 John 2:6: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought 
himself so to walk even as He walked.” The standard of 


’ Christian living is not the Ten Commandments, it is net even 


the Golden Rule—it is Jesus Himself. Our Lord Jesus gave 
to His disciples a new law including the old but going far 
beyond it. That new law was this: “That ye love one 
another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” 
(John 13:34). If we would study the life of Jesus and see 
what He did under the circumstances in which He lived when 
here on earth, under the Spirit’s teaching we can decide what 
He would do if He were in our circumstances today. The 
question for the Christian never is: “What do other Christians 
de?” or “What do other Christians tell me to do?” but “What 
would Jesus have me do, and what would Jesus Himself do?” 


THE WORLD’S CONDITION. 


Is the world growing better or worse? 

If you use the word “world” in the Biblical sense, that is, 
the great body of mankind who reject Jesus Christ, then un- 
deubtedly it is growing worse. “The whole world” (that — 
is, the whole mass of men excluding those who accept Jesus ~ 
Christ, who are not of the world) “lieth in the evil one” (1 
John 5:19, R. V.), and of course cannot but grow worse all the 
time it goes on rejecting Christ. 

But if by “the world” you mean the whole human race 
there are two developments going on in it—a good develop- 
ment ef those who have come out of the world and acoepted 
Jesus Christ (these are constantly growing better), and an 
evil development of those who reject Christ (who are con- 
stantly growing worse). In outward things, of course. the 


ore "g 


Pe Wl te a ee nu 
4 AS Te ? {> pe, > > eS Whaat c . 
126 _ ‘PRACTICAL AND PERPLE 
























Dp Ms ; 
BS world is affected more or less by the believers who ¢ re 
and this leads to many reforms, such as temperance reforms, _ 
abolition of slavery, etc.; but “evil men and impostors con- 
_ stantly wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” ; 
_ (2 Timothy 3:13, R. V.), and “in the latter times some shall 
_ depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and - 
doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). “In the last days 
grievous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, R. V.). It will 
be difficult to find genuine faith in the earth when the Son 

~ of man cometh (Luke 18:8). Men ee! : 
¢ Furthermore, the time is coming when the church shall be Fa 
_ taken out of the world, and then an awful state of things — 
will go on on this earth, as described in the Book of Revela- 
tion. . wit 7 
Again, there can be no question in the mind of amy ons _— 
who goes around in this country today that there has been ; 
an awful moral decline in the past few years. This is 
seen in commercial affairs. Many of the leading busi- — 
ness men, whom every’ one has trusted, have been found 
guilty of such a misapplication of funds as should haye 

’ landed them in the penitentiary. It is seen also in the awful Ma 


; increase of impurity, not only among the abandoned classes 
—y 





but among what is supposed to be good society. Shameless — bon 
adultery is on the increase, divorces are multiplying, men r 
are divorcing their wives and marrying actresses and other 
women with apparently no sense of shame, and are received eo 
back into what was once supposed to be decent society. The 
increase of immorality among young men and young women 
belonging to the better classes of society is something appall- _ 
ing. Suicide is becoming frightfully common. All this is 
doubtless due to the spread of skeptical and unbelieving views. — 
Belief in an awful future hell has declined enormously in 
the past few years. Even»smany ministers of the Gospel “oi 
neither preach nor believe in an awful hell. Men are ques: 
tioning on every hand, in universities and theological semin- 
aries and supposedly orthodox pulpits, the authority and ins 2 
errancy of the Bible, and this appalling harvest of iniquity 
is simply the result of this seed sowing. rg 


- 





SUBJECT INDEX 


American Standard Bible. 
Angels 


Annikitation of wicked...... 5 
Answered prayer........... 96 
7 ES eee as 6 
Arminian view of falling 
PAE MEARE on vas kts) <i Saas 5 
Assurance of salvation...... 7 
TT ee eet eee 8 


Authorized Version ..,.....17 


Backslidine ....sesss0.....-10 
J is Se A eee 12 
Baptized for the dead...... 13 
Believe, I cannot.......... 55 


igie —inagication of, 13-15; 
variations in style and dic- 
tion of, 15; marginal dates 
in, 16; study of, 16, 17, 21; 
versions of, 17; translation 
of, 18: ae guide, 37, 79; read- 
ing, 56, 


“Binding” fend “loosing” 107 
CS STS Ue es 59 
1 8 0 eerie 61 


Calvinistic view of perse- 
verance of saints......... 5 

Card-playing 

Children—guardian angels of, 
5. See “Infants.” 

Christian life—how to begin, 
10; how to make success of, 
20 


Christian Science 

Church—meaning of, 25; con- 
ditions eo entrance into, 25; 
joining, denominations 
and ty Sb; institutional, 
28; unconverted workers in, 
30; women prominent in 
work of, 30; raising money 
for, $1; soliciting from _ un- 
saved persons for, 31; Jews 
and Gentiles in 8é; and for- 
eign missions, é 


Coming again of Jesus Christ, 
2; how, 34; near at 
34: destruction of Antichrist, 
6; sanctification of believers, 
Conditional immortality. eet 


Confession of Christ........ 21 
Confession of sins....... 86 
Conscience as guide........ 37 
Gonserration.” 75. 5 scree ace 37 
Conviction of sin .........: 8 
Cousins, Marriage of....... 91 
Daneine cscs ole scien 39, 40 


Dates in Bible, marginal, Seats 
Death—our spirits after, 63; 


existence after, 82 ; probation 
after, 101. 
Deity of. Fass’, i occa eee 41 
Denominations .........- 27 
Depravity of man........ ..44 
Design in nature.......... 68 
Devil—personal, 45; why did 


God create, 46; can God de- 
stroy, 46; why does not God 
destroy, 47; apparent victery 
of, 53 

DiVOTCE ce 6b we be vice eee 47 


mternal Renishmien’ of wicked, 
Existence of evil......... .«b4 






Existence of God proved...61 
Meath fa a7. ote a ave bee ee .-b5 
Falling from Braco, .-bae 
Poatinge ~ <ic3-. ee 58 
Faultless life..... 59 
Footwashing -.60 


Foreknowledge and fore- 


ordination -.\5.):2ee ae -60 
Foreign missions .........61 
Forgiveness of sins .. 43, 62 
Freedom of choice........-- 60 
Future life ........+.+. be $2 


Future punishment.... 


127 


_ 


128 


Gentile and Jew............86 
ARUMIIE Gn vec oor cet; G4, 66 
God—names of, 65; existence 
of, 66; personality of, 69, 71; 
spirit, 71; the Trinity, 72; 
director of universe, 78, 74; 
confession to, 36; and Devil, 
46; and punishment of wick- 
ed, 50; and evil, 54; and the 
atonement, 9; foreknowl- 
edge, 60; man in image of, 
89; prayer to, 98; and pros- 
perity of wicked, 102; and 
trouble, 119. 
Good works ...... Pt Par Wh 
Grace—growth in, 28; falling 
from, 57; not works, 75. 
Guardian angels .........+++-5 


BROREDBT iis bic c's tromiad tbe Cee ee 
Heaven—a place, 77; how to 
get there, 78; the Bible an 


all-sufficient guide, 79; rec- 
ognition in, 79; happiness in, 
79; when our spirits go to, 
63; not by good works, 75; 
Hell—a ‘piace, 80; God’s pres- 
ence in, 80; loved ones in, 79; 
spirits of wicked go to, 63. 
Holy Spirit—in the believer, 
81; power of service, 81; in- 
spired the Bible, 13. 15; 


illuminates conscience, 37; 
convicts of sin, 38; third per- 
son of the Trinity, 72; praser 

ee 


to, 98; sin against, 120. 
“God.” 


Immortality 
PIPRORI GM Pibuic stoves eran poclate 
Inspiration of Bible 
Institutional church 
Insurance 
Intermediate state . 


soeveee e868 


Jesus Christ—atonement by, 8; 
coming again of, 32; deity 
of, 41; victory over Satan, 
58; second person of the 
Trinity, 72; prayer to, 98; 
what would Jesus do, 125. 
See “God.” 

Jews—restoration of, 86; and 
Gentiles, 86. 

Joining the church.........26 


SUBJECT INDEX 











Judgment . erect ere rt re 
Justification by faith 


Law Sb 
Lord’s DaPihasiesteaneaee 
Lord’s Tabiges sinc seen eene a 
Love for souls..............89 
Loved ones—recogni ins 
heaven, 79; in hell, 79. vs 


Man in God’s image. sete eee 8 
Marginal dates in Bible.....1 
Marriage—of Christian with 
unbeliever, 90; mixed, $0; of 
cousins, 91. See alse “Di- a 
vorce.” awe 
Medicine, use Of......«00-+-91 - 
Millennium i 
Miracles ........ ocvcssee bee 
Money for church work. .31, 64 iat 





Names of God........sus.s08 0 0 

Nature—design in, 68; miracles - 
and laws of, 93; prayer and 
laws of, 97. ‘a 


a 


Original sin <oTik oe og 
me 


See “Roman Cath. xe 


Papacy, 7. 
olicism.” 
Perfection—110; sinless, 113 ~ 


Perseverance of saints......57 i. 
Personality of God.. ,oa*5 a 






Physical resistance.. ».95 ca 
Power for service.....+..-+.-87 
Prayer—answered, 67, “967 and’ 
laws of nature, 97; why nec- 
essary, 97; to whom, 98; why - 
not all answered, 99; how to 
pray, 100; duty ‘of, "21; “and » 
fasting, 59. e 
Probation after déath......101 a 
Prosperity of the wicked. . .102 fF 
Purgatory j<.s.ceses es see = 
2 
*“ 


~ 


Recognition in heaven......79 
Religion ....2 0s 5% whe eh 9 Oe 
Resurrection of body. 
Revised versions .... 
Rewards ..... sae 
Roman Catholicism. .......10 ¥ 
Roman Catholics—m 2 
Protestants with, 91. ae TS 
= 








PRU EMRENR.. 35'S winiee.c'n' ora aie 


— 
ant 


ae 


SP ROR oS s iie os 


Bre Secs acess 
18 


miners OS 
Salvation—assurance of, 7; 
meaning of, 12; and baptism, 
12; by faith, 55; not of works, 
76; of infants, 84; threefold, 


123. 
Sanctification .............110 
Satan—see “Devil.” 
Secret orders ..«.........-111 
IRAs eae cals ebos cv oo 27 


Sin—conviction of, 38; original, 
95; apparent dominance of, 
74; of ignorance, 87; against 
the Holy Ghost, 120; un- 
pardonable, 120; victory 
over, 123. : 

Sinless perfection ...... 

Spiritualism .,.......\....114 

/Substitution—see “Atonement” 

Success in Christian life....20 


Temperance ......... +116 
Temptation, Victory over. .123 
PACE ROMs We: wie%e bik, Warert'e's 0-56 118 


TEXTS EXPLAINED 


129 
SEUEL Gia wie tac uiktoioiel'a: aC elaler tie, cin ee 
Total depravity ...... weno 44 
Transfiguration ........... 35 
EPIC ise Alo e.e Oeiae ae ne aimntc 
PUOUDLE) are <<a eputeeaiaiete Sais ee 


Unanswered prayer ........99 
Unpardonable sins.... 1120 


Verbal inspiration of Bible. .13 
Victory over sin.’....... 43, 123 


Wicked—annihilation pe 5; 
eternal punishment of, 48-52; 
prosperity of, 102. 

Women in church work..... 30 

Work—Christian, 22; women 
rhe ripe 30; rewards for, 


PAW-OLIES, (O00 ses 5 be Sepa ew 


or 


ee eeeee 


World growing penn 
WOFSEL cic onic ork 


TEXTS EXPLAINED AND EXPOUNDED 


' GENESIS 
ae faa a '.'s518 


PSALMS 


weeeeecvceees o89 


wveese 80 
MATTHEW 





LUKE 


LoS cae 
20:23..... 


soo 0 0260 


ACTS 


Seren eevesececsessec00 


2:88.... 
15s sove--61 


eeeeceees coesse 


1 CORINTHIANS 


WSUS nic’ cia'e/a'e Shitalewia? ole oeee 84 
POZO ere ° seit ie obaneh wine 
16:2-31..... ’ cr 
HEBREWS 
Gr4=6 2. occ ©) le eleiele:cherete eimininera 
10526... ..0006 vee secs cep eaman 
JAMES 
5:14, 15 ¢ o watee eveesee cc eben 
1 PETER 
SBS 5 LO. seiclase ls ene erra en 103 
1 JOHN 
aS LO clea atau coewec cde ciny shales 
BiG Ow ew ele oateioie 3 0:8.0 0 0 aie eraReD 
REVELATION 


20:14, 18... ysevgaesemenneneee 











1 All of Grace. C. 

Way to God. D. L. Moody 

3 Pleasure & Profit in Bible Study. Moody 

Life, Warfare and Victory. Whittle 

Heaven. D. L. Moody 

Prevailing Prayer. D. L. Moody 

The Way of Life. Various authors 

Secret Power. D. L. Moody 

To the Work. D. L. Moody 

Aceording to Promise. C. H, Spurgeon 

Bible Characters. D. L. Moody 

“And Peter.’’ J. W. Chapman 

Light on Life’s Duties, Pr B. Meyer 

The Good Shepherd. Life of Christ 

Good Tidings. Talmage and others 

Sovereign Grace. D, L. Moo 

21 Select Sermons. D, L. Moody 

23 Nobody Loves Me. Mrs. O. F. Walton 

24 The Empty Tomb. Various authors 

26 Sowing and Reaping. D. L. Moody 

28 “‘Probable Sons.”’ Story. Amy LeFeuvre 

80 Good News. Robert Boyd 

32 The Secret of Guidance. F. B. Meyer 

84 The Second Coming of Christ 

40 The Power of a Surrendered Life, or 
Kadesh-Barnea, J. W. Chapman 

42 Whiter Than Snow 2" ziise Dot— 
Stories. Mrs. O. F. 

44 The Overcoming Life. a keisty 

48 The Prodigal. Various cia 

49 The Spirit-Filled Life, John MaeNefl 

50 Jessiea’s First Prayer. Hesba Stretton 

51 The Christ-Life for the Self-Life. Meyer 

54 Absolute Surrender. Andrew Murray 

56 What is Faith? Spurgeon, Moody, ete. 

57 Christie’s Old Organ—A story. Walton 

58 Naaman the Syrian. A, B. — 

60 Weighed and Wanting. D. L. Moody 

61 The Crew of the Dolphin. Hesba Stretton 

63 Meet for the Master's Use. F. B. Meyer 

64 Our Bible. C. Leach and R. A. Torrey 

65 Alone in London. Hesba Stretton 

66 Moody’s Anecdotes 

69 Children of the Bible 

70 The Power of Pentecost, Thomas Waugh 

71 Men of the Bible. D. L. Moody 

2 A Peep Behind the Scenes. - F. Walton 

73 The School of Obedience. A. Murray 

74 Making the Home Happy. BR. T. Cross 

76 Moody's Stories 

78 The Robber’s Cave—A story. A.L.0.E. 

81 Thoughts for Quiet Hour, D. L, Moody 

83 The Shorter Life of D. L. Moody. Fitt 

85 Revival of a Dead Church. Broughton 

86 Moody’s Latest Sermons 

87 A Missionary Penny—A story. L.O.W. 

88 Calvary’s Cross. Spurgeon, a etc. 

80 How to Pray. R. A. Torre 

90 Little King Sie Nellie Hellis 

91 Short Talks. D. L, Moody 

93 Pilgrim’s Progress. yonn Bunyan 

96 Kept for the Master’s Use. Havergal 

98 Back to Bethel. I. B. Meyer 

100 Up from Sin. Len G, Broughton 

102 Popular Amusements and the Christian 
Life. P. W. Sinks 

104 Answers to Prayer. George Muller 

105 The Way Home. D. L. Moody 

109 Life of David Livingstone. Worcester 

114 First Words to Young Christians. Boyd 

115 Rosa’s Quest—A Story. Anna P. Wright 

116 Difficulties tn the Bible. R. A. Torrey 

118 Practical and Perpiexing Questtons 
Answered. R. A. Torrey 


H. —_ 


w 







ded ded edd 
CSCOBUICrK oOo eo» 










































_ 
a 


The Moody COLPORTAGE Library 


Uniform in size and style, attractive paper covers, 434 x 6% inches. 20c each. 





120 Satan and the —_ James M, Gray 
123 Salvation from Start to Finish. 


129 Christian: Creed and 
130 Intercessory Prayer. J. G. K. McClure 
131 From Death Unto Life. J. H. Brookes 


34 Forty-Bight Bernard Street. 
135 Deliverance from 


the Penalty 
Fors O. BR. Palmer 
136 Mrs. Graham Clark 


Mary’s Go-Tell. 
187 Bird" s-Eye Bible Study. A, Patterson 
_ ‘I Cried, He Answered.’” 


1 Later Prangeliatic ri. 
'yler’s Opportunity. Burnham 
143 Moving Messages. J. CG, Massee 


144 The Christ we Know. A. C, Gaebelein 
145 Five Susts” of the 
F. B. Meyer 
146 The New Life in Christ Jesus. 
147 Problems in the Prayer Life. 
of the Lord Began, 


151 Tue Fath hse Wit Roy T. Brumbaugh 


152 God's of Holiness. H. Bonar 
152 Souls Set Free. field miracles 
with Norman H. 


1 
155 ‘‘Charge That to My ae I 
156 Vera Dickson’s Triumph. Sara 


G 
161 Methods of Bible ax 
162 Romance of a 
163 The Little She 
164 God's Picked 


168 The Living Christ. Will 

169 Portraits of Christ. Harold * Laird 
170 The Doctor’s Best — Story. 
171 Full Assurance. H. A. 


175 Vivid Experiences in Korea, 

176 The ‘‘True’’ Mystery Solved. Wi 3 

177 The a oe of the Human 
Norman ee 

178 On Silver — Knob. 

179 The Princess Beautiful, 


yo 
180 Remarkable-New Stories. W. wk x 


181 Rivers of Livin, Water. Ruth 
= Rutk Paxson 

183 The Soul-Winner’s Sire. Joba . Rice 
185 Aunt Hattie’s Bible 
186 a ee P aibt 

easy Teeth, Rebeca 
187 His Hands—Story. ‘arriet 
188 Great Words of the Gospel. Ironside 
189 So Great Salvation. J. FB. Strombeck 

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